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SERIES OF NUMBERS 


UPON 


THREE THEOLOGICAL POINTS. 


ENFORCED FROM 


VARIOUS PULPITS 


IN THE CITY OF NEW-YORK. 





O. HALSTED-CORNER OF NASSAU AND CEDAR STREETS. 
1832 . 


Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1831, by Ann Whelpley 
in the Clerk’s Office of the District Court of the United States for the 
Southern District of New York, in the Second Circuit. 






E. Merriam & Co., Printers; 
Brookfield, Mass. 


DEDICATION. 


To the People of New- York. 

The first of the following numbers was published in 
the New-York Courier. A note in that paper, the follow- 
ing day, stated, that the editor of the paper declined pub- 
lishing the remainder of the work, because it was likely to 
give offence. I preferred a public paper to a pamphlet 
form, for two reasons : one was, that a newspaper is read 
by many persons who seldom have leisure, or inclination, 
to labour through the Essays on didactic theology, found 
in Magazines, Sermons, and Systematic Discourses. The 
other was, that I entered on the publication not as a theo- 
logian or controversialist, but as a spectator and reporter of 
facts. 

To be candid, the work was principally designed for the 
edification of those who would be willing to be styled 
high-toned Calvinists. And it may seem, perhaps, to some 
a little paradoxical, that the very first number should kindle 
such a flame of resentment, as to cause aiarm to the editor, 
of whose correct taste and liberal sentiments I have no 


IV 


doubt, when it is a fact, that the number does no more 
than condemn a sentiment which Calvin condemns, or, at 
any rate, does not justify — I mean the imputation of the guilt 
of Mam's sin to Ids posterity, independently of their own 
conduct and character. Neither Calvin, Luther, nor Me- 
lancthon, believed in that doctrine. 

People of New-York, I desire you to take notice, that 
these high-toned Calvinists were so enraged at Calvin’s 
own sentiments, that the editor of the Courier was induced 
not to proceed. For your satisfaction I give you the words 
of Calvin. He sums up his opinion of original sin in few 
words : “ Yedetur, ergo, peccatum originale haereditare 
naturae nostras pravitas et corruptio, in omnes animae partes 
diffusa.” Wherefore , original sin seems to be the hereditary 
depravity and corruption of our nature diffused into all parts of 
the soul. “ Neque,” subjoins Calvin, “ ista est alieni delicti 
obligatio. Non ita est accipiendum, ac si, insontes ipsi et 
immerentes, culpam delicti ejus sustineremus.” Neither is 
that an obligation or accountableness for another's fault. It 
is not to be understood as though we, ourselves innocent, should 
sustain the blame of his ( Jldam's ) transgression. 

I am aware that most people have not leisure to examine 
authors. Those, however, that will take that trouble, will 
perceive that the views of Original Sin, Depravity, and 
Atonement, advocated in these numbers, are not peculiar 
to New England, but, on the contrary, have been known 
and maintained in the church, by many of the ablest di- 
vines, since the Reformation, and by a majority in the 
American churches. 

But, fellow citizens, it is not so much with their senti- 


5 


ments that I am disposed to contend, although they are 
sufficiently incorrect and erroneous ; it is with their horribly 
intolerant, bigoted, and persecuting spirit ; against which 
every man should lift his voice, and proclaim his indigna- 
tion. The holy fathers and friars of the inquisitorial 
commission were never more vindictive or implacable. 
It comes in thunders and anathemas from their desks : in 
cants, whispers, and inuendoes among the throng : it comes 
larded with much holy grimace , and many sanctimonious 
sighs, for the credulous and pious ; with much logical jargon 
and biblical criticism for smatterers ; with spleen and gall 
enough, when the company has sufficient pride and malice 
to bear it ; and with firebands for all the young foxes they 
can catch. When they have exhausted their topics of 
argument, and that they can soon do, without a miracle, 
they resort to sarcasm and ridicule, and here their talents 
are wonderful : Hercules often comes in “ head and 
shoulders.” 

These gentlemen surely forget the age and country in 
which they live, by three hundred years. They ought to 
feel comfortable whilst others think for themselves. And 
one object of these numbers is to remind them, that they 
live in the year 1816. A man in this city does not expect 
to share the fate of Servetus, though he should differ from 
Calvin. I will not say what a man ought to expect when 
he is so fortunate as not to differ with Calvin. 


1 





TABLE OF CONTENTS. 


FIRST SERIES. 


x M 'o r- 

Dedication, - - .-3 

No. I. The doctrine of Original Sin , as forming the first point of 

the Triangle, J 1 

No. II. The doctrine of Inability , as forming the second point of the 

Triangle, 14 

No. III. The doctrine of Atonement , as forming the third point of 

the Triangle, 16 

No. IV. Some consequences that may be expected to flow from 

the inculcation of this scheme of doctrine, - - - 18 


No. V. Remarks on several of the arguments, or rather means 

made use of to maintain and propagate this scheme, 25 
No. VI. The doctrine of Original Sin, as viewed by the Investigator, 28 
No. VII. The doctrine of Natural and Moral Inability, as viewed by 


the Investigator, » - 33 

* No. VIII. The doctrine of the Atonement, as viewed by the Investiga- 
tor, 38 


No. IX. Remarks on “ God’s being the Author of Sin,” on a sin- 
ner’s “ being willing to be damned in order to be saved,” 
and on the essence of Sin and Holiness, . - - 47 

No. X. The Reformation of the Church. The reformation of 
Luther and his coadjutors deficient in three important 
, respects — some remarks on the progress of Reformation, 

and the opposition made to it at the present day, espe- 
cially in this city, 56 


SECOND SERIES. 


Address to the inhabitants of the city of New-York, 81 

No. I. Documents for what is falsely called New Divinity, or 
“ Hopkinsianism or a general view of the character 
and writings of some of the most distinguished divines 
in New England, ------ 83 

No. II. The question, “ Ought a Christian to be willing to be dam- 
ned'! ” examined in reference to the odium cast upon 


CONTENTS. 


viii 


No. III. 
No. IV. 


No. V. 


No. VI. 


Page. 


those supposed to maintain the affirmative — and placed 

upon its proper footing, 

“ A Contrast” of Antinomian and Hopkinsian Calvinism 
— illustrated by an allegorical dream, ■ 

An appeal to Christians, grounded upon fact, respecting 
the tendency of what is usually called the “ New-Eng- 
land strain of Doctrine ,” as connected with the great sub- 
ject of Revivals of Religion, - 
Metaphysics ; — nature and object, as a science — connex- 
ion with, and dependence upon, the principles and doc- 
trines of revealed truth — false tenets in religion the result 
of false metaphysics — the irrational and miserable slang 
that is levelled against it — some specimens of triangular 
metaphysics , --------- 

Remarks on the Pastoral letter of the synod of Philadel- 
phia, dated Lancaster, September 20th, 1816. 


100 

109 


121 


* 


142 

157 


THIRD SERIES. 


Dedication, to the learned, and long-lived, John Doe and Richard 

Roe, Esquires, - - - - - - - -163 

No. I. On the many advantages of the city of New York, com- 
mercial, political, civil, religious, and local, for intellectu- 
al and moral improvement — together with incentives to 
activity, and perseverance in cultivating these advanta- 
ges, - - -------- 172 

No. II. The importance of encouraging a spirit of Free inquiry , in 
order to the acquisition of religious knowledge — the ad- 
vance that has been made in this respect, chiefly in this 
country, upon the Reformation of the sixteenth century — 
some of the methods used to discourage and check a spi- 
rit of Free inquiry, by many of the advocates of the Tri- 
angular scheme, ------- - 184 

No. III. An examination of several passages in Dr. J. B. Romeyn’s 
Sermons, tending to prove the assertion, that instructions 
grounded upon this scheme are “ incorrect in their na- 
ture,” 4 -211 

No. IV. A Letter, addressed to two distinguished members of 

the Jersey Presbytery — the Rev. Dr. , and the Rev. 

Dr. , 128 

No. V. A few remarks on the proceedings of the Young Men’s 
Missionary Society of New-York, in relation to the re- 
jection of Mr. C. , as their missionary, - - 256 


CONTENTS. 


IX 


FOURTH SERIES. 

Page. 

Preface to the Fourth Series of Numbers, 259 

No. I. The influence of Sectarianism, — the design of God in permit- 
ting divisions in the Church of Christ — connected with 
an allegorical vision, intended to point out the union, and 
justify the claims, of Toleration and Truth, - •• 263 

No. II. Articles of Faith, agreed upon at Marpurge, October 3d, 

1529, by the First Class of Reformers, in which no corner 

of the Triangle is seen, - 285 

No. III. Extract from a work, (printed 1514, and dedicated /to 
Sir Edward Coke,) entitled “ a full declaration of the 
Faith and ceremonies of the Psaltzgraves Churches 


some remarks on this Hopkinsian document, - - 288 

No. IV. Preface. — A Good Presbyterian , 309 

No. V. Depravity of the understanding considered, - 326 

No. VI. A glance at “ Dr. M‘Leod’s Sermons on the nature of true 

godliness,” - - - - 339 


FIFTH SERIES. 


Preface, - ' - 343 

No. I. Depravity of the understanding considered, and con- 
cluded from the Fourth Series. 345 


No. II. The Good Presbyterian, concluded from the Fourth Series, 360 
No. III. An extract of a Letter from the celebrated Gilbert Ten- 
nant, to his brother William Tennant, during his minis- 
try in Philadelphia, - - - - - - -371 

No. IV. Thoughts on Theological Truth ; — being an abstract of the 
sentiments of the Investigator, respecting the principal 
doctrines of Evangelical Religion, .... 374 


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THE TRIANGLE. 


No. 1. 

It is an old, and perhaps will be regarded as a trite saying, 
that the decline of morality, in a nation, precedes and ensures 
the decline of its prosperity. The tendency of the increase of 
wealth, numbers, and refinement, to a deterioration of morals, is 
exemplified in the history of the greatest nations, and is too obvi- 
ous to require proof, and too well known to need illustration. 
Happy would it be for mankind, if the natural tendency of nations 
and societies to sink into luxury, extravagance, dishonesty, and all 
the extremes of immorality, were not, in many instances, aided 
by the very means and institutions which are professedly estab- 
lished for the opposite purpose. 

Even religion, descended from Heaven, arrayed in the beauties 
of virtue, and her head encompassed with the rays of divinity, has 
been counterfeited, her institutions perverted, her doctrines corrup- 
ted, her glories sullied : so that, instead of presenting any barrier 
to vice, or any check to immorality, she has often become their 
most efficient auxiliary. It has been the boast, perhaps the felici- 
ty of this city, that it abounds more than any other city with in- 
stitutions designed to favour morality ; and while I leave it for 
the reader to judge for himself, of the effect and success of these 
institutions, I am concerned to say that, in my opinion, some of 
the most showy and prepossessing, at any rate, the most noisy 
means used to promote morality and religion in this city, are 
amongst the most useless, false, and hollow. I refer to nothing 
less than the strain of preaching continually and incessantly used 
in many of the pulpits of this city ! 

I have no controversy with any one, nor do I enter on this 
subject in any other than a political point of view. I consider 


12 


morality as the highest ornament and strongest bulwark of society ; 
whatever, therefore, diminishes the motives and weakens the obli- 
gations to morality, comes no less under the animadversion of the 
politician than that of the divine ; as it surely no less impairs the 
temporal than the spiritual interests of the community. There 
are a few points which go perpetually into the strain of preaching 
of certain gentlemen ; and their scheme may be compared to a 
Triangle, from which they never depart, and in which, if they 
step out of one angle, their next step is into another ; the succeed- 
ing one, into the one from whence they started. 

The want of variety might be compensated by force and ex- 
pansion of talents, were their angular scheme laid, both as to its 
sides and angles, in the great field of truth. 

Their scheme commences by teaching that the whole human 
race are guilty of the sin of Adam , independently of their own 
conduct , and for that sin are truly deserving of eternal punish- 
ment . We are apt to take our opinions on the credit of venera- 
ble names ; and very many names deemed venerable, if weighed 
in the balance of unerring truth, would be found to have derived 
their importance from a long and industrious propagation of er- 
ror. Probably no individual man yet had time, candour, patience, 
and resolution, to examine and substantiate, on proper evidence, 
the whole mass of his opinions. Few men proceed to any con- 
siderable length in this arduous work. They take their opinions, 
nay, their articles of faith, as they do the fashion of their gar- 
ments, not upon a careful inquiry, whether they are the best, but 
upon the testimony of the tailor who makes them, that they are 
in the fashion ; 

The doctrine of original sin , as just stated, is thus received 
by its advocates. It has descended from the lumber and trash 
of the dark times of ignorance and supertsition, mysticism, and 
bigotry. The great reformers did nobly, but they did not do 
every thing. They merit the approbation of men, and met with 
divine acceptance for what they did, and are certainly to be ex- 
cused for what they omitted, in their great work. I speak as 
though the reformers held the doctrine of original sin according 
to the tenor of the preceding statement. Some of them did, 
others did not ; and the truth is, that a candid examination of the 


13 


sentiments of the fathers — of the most learned and judicious 
divines in Europe, before the reformation, and since, will show, 
beyond all dispute, that the above statement of the doctrine of 
original sin has never been the general or prevailing opinion of 
the Christian church. 

Yet you shall hear it inculcated from Sabbath to Sabbath in 
many of our churches, and swallowed down, as a sweet morsel, 
by many a gaping mouth, that a man ought to feel himself actu- 
ally guilty of a sin committed six thousands years before he was 
born ; nay, that, prior to all consideration of his own moral con- 
duct, he ought to feel himself deserving of eternal damnation for 
the first sin of Adam. I hesitate not to say, that no scheme of 
religion ever propagated amongst men contains a more mon- 
strous, a more horrible tenet. The atrocity of this doctrine is 
beyond comparison. The visions of the Koran, the fictions of 
the Sadder, the fables of the Zendavesta, all give place to this : — 
Rabbinical legends, Brahminical vagaries all vanish before it. 

The idea, that all the numerous millions of Adam’s posterity 
deserve the ineffable and endless torments of hell, for a single 
act of his, before any one of them existed, is repugnant to that 
reason which God has given us, is subversive of all possible con- 
ceptions of justice. No such doctrine is taught in the scriptures, 
or can impose itself on any rational mind, which is not trammel- 
ed by education, dazzled by interest, warped by prejudice, and 
bewildered by theory. — This is one corner of the triangle above 
mentioned. 

This doctrine perpetually urged, and the subsequent strain of 
teaching usually attached to it, will not fail to drive the incau- 
tious mind to secret and practical, or open infidelity. An at- 
tempt to force such monstrous absurdities on the human under- 
standing, will be followed by the worst effects. A mamwho finds 
himself condemned for that of which he is not guilty, will feel 
little regret for his real transgressions. 

I shall not apply these remarks to the purpose I had in view, 
tfil I have considered some other points of a similar character ; — 
or, if I may resort to the metaphor alluded to, till I have pointed 
out the other two angles of the triangle. 


2 


INVESTIGATOR. 


14 


No. II. 

Whether it may be termed a disposition, or passion, or call- 
ed by any other name, there is something in some men which 
may be denominated an humble pride. I fear, could it be ana- 
lyzed, it would not be found to want any of the most virulent 
qualities of the true and old-fashioned pride, known in the work 
ever since the fall of man, and which, indeed, threw a morning 
star from heaven, before it inflamed man to rebellion. It seems 
to be the pride of the gentlemen alluded to in the preceding 
number, to plunge down human nature as low as possible. They 
are by no means satisfied with laying the whole human race un- 
der the ban of eternal damnation, for an act which was commit- 
ted before any of them existed ; — they go much farther. And 
this brings me to the second angle of the true diagram of their 
scheme. 

They teach, and strenulously insist, that all men labor under a 
f true and physical incapacity to do any thing which God requires. 
To this total and universal inability they deny all figurative or 
metaphysical import, and contend that men are as truly, and in 
the same sense, unable to obey the law of God as they are to 
overturn the Andes, or drain the ocean. Whal do we hear next 1 
They turn immediately round, and exhort their hearers, with 
great pathos, to do every thing which God requires, and de- 
: nounce their disobedience as meriting eternal damnation. Nay, 
this inability and thraldom, in its whole extent, they carry back 
to the original fountain of their guilt and condemnation, and say 
that it was ail done in Adam ; — that all the human race were 
made guilty, and were wholly incapacitated to do any good act, 
in their first father. Nevertheless, they go on with mighty 
eloquence to exhort them to do every duty. 

Had I not already said that their notion of original sin con 
tained the most monstrous error ever advanced in any scheme 
of religion, I should be tempted to say the same of this. But I 
will venture to say I think them both infinitely distant from the 
truth. But, says the advocate of these truly tremendous and de- 
testable tenets, “ This is Calvinism ; and dare you dispute Cal- 


15 


vin ?” To which I reply, If Calvin believed in these doctrines, 
which we deny, he must have derived his light therein, for aught 
I know, from the flames of Servetus ; indeed, they more resem- 
ble the light of infernal than celestial fire. 

This doctrine of man’s inability is an insult to every man’s 
unbiassed understanding — to the light of his conscience. It is 
contrary to the whole current of the sacred scriptures : and, in- 
deed, its warmest advocates are tempted to contradict themselves 
every moment ; and when they preach best, this temptation is 
effectual ; or, to say the least, their contradictions are seldom 
farther apart than the improvement from the sermon. Their 
preaching often reminds me of the mode of writing used by some 
ancient nations, which was from left to right, and from right to 
left, alternately crossing the page in opposite directions. 

These gentlemen, however, might be laid off into different 
sections. Some of them, aware of the inconsistency, frankly own 
that wicked men are under no obligation to love or obey God : 
and thus, for the sake of theory and system, plunge still deeper 
in error. Others boldly deny all moral agency to mankind ; — 
others again contend that men are moral agents to do wrong, but 
not to do right ; evincing still more ignorance of the philosophy 
of the human mind than of the word of God. 

Is it wonderful that there should be so many Gallios in this 
city ? That so many should with scornful smile turn from this 
monstrous jargon, and cry out, “ Wretched mysticism ! — rid- 
dles ! — contradictions ! — What, was I rendered, by Adam’s first 
act of sin, a criminal deserving endless torments ? Was I, at the 
same time, totally incapacitated to yield obedience to the Al- 
mighty ruler ? Was I bound hand and foot six thousand years 
ago, and rocks of adamant laid on the seal of my eternal perdition ? 
Impossible ! The glorious volume of nature itself contradicts all 
this, and shows me a far different character of my Creator and 
Preserver.” 


INVESTIGATOR. 


16 


No. III. 


We come to the third and last great point of their system of 
theology, which makes out the triangle, from which, as I said, 
they do not depart. They tell you there is a remedy for a part 
of mankind ; Christ has died for an elect number. They, and 
they only, enjoy an offer of salvation ; and for them alone is pro- 
vision made. On the contrary, they plumply deny that il Christ 
has tasted death for every man ; v they will by no means allow 
that “ He is a propitiation for the sins of the whole world;” they 
abhor the idea of going “ into all the world and preaching the 
gospel to every creature” They would tell you, that if they could 
distinguish who the elect are, in their assemblies, they should 
preach the gospel only to them ; they should tell them that Christ 
died only for them : but, as for the rest, they should preach no- 
thing but the certainty of eternal damnation. 

Nor does this, though it gives the lines of the triangle, display 
the worst features of their scheme. They go on to state, that 
even the elect are not bound to believe in the Saviour, or to love 
and obey him, till he has convinced them, in a supernatural way, 
that he died for them. Thus, to the grossest error in doctrine 
adding the basest selfishness in heart and practice. Nothing of- 
fends them so deeply as the assertion, that the perfection and 
glory of the Saviour are the highest motives of love and obe- 
dience to him. Yet, as for the non-elect, they assure them, that 
their condemnation will be vastly aggravated for rejecting sal- 
vation by Christ. 

The whole of their doctrine, then, amounts to this, that a man 
is, in the first place, condemned, incapacitated, and eternally re- 
probated for the sin of Adam : in the next place, that he is con- 
demned over again, for not doing that which he is totally, in all 
respects, unable to do ; and, in the third place, that he is con- 
demned, and doubly and trebly condemned, for not believing in 
a Saviour, who never died for him, and with whom he has no 
more to do than a fallen angel. 


17 


This is what I call strong meat, and the stomach which can 
digest such food, can, I should think, digest iron and adamant. 
The natural and necessary deductions from these leading tenets, 
their various ramifications and subordinate collateral branches, 
exert a deep influence, and diffuse an alarming complexion over 
the whole plan of revelation. These teachers have turned their 
faces towards the ages of darkness, and are travelling back with 
rapid strides to the jargon of schoolmen, and the reveries and 
superstitions of Monks. Were a painter to draw an emblem of 
their plan, you would see the distorted phiz, squinting eye, and 
haggard features of perfect selfishness, mounted on the huge, 
inflated, and putrescent carcass of Antinomianism. 

Whether they admit or deny the doctrine of moral agency 
their crude notions of that, and other things correlative, amount 
to an absolute and universal virtual denial of it : of course, the-h 
scheme embraces the strongest and most odious features of fa- 
talism, or, rather that men are mere machines, dead as inorganic 
matter. They have no notion of moral virtue as an exercise of 
the human mind ; they even wish that phrase expunged from 
our language. Of course, their sermons generally lie within the 
narrow limits already marked out; which they are pleased to 
style, preaching Christ. 

To this it is proper to add, that they are tenacious of their 
own opinions, and intolerant of those of others in no ordinary 
degree. I shall justify this remark, by simply adverting to the 
recent expulsion of a young man, of unblemished character 
and respectable talents, from a theological seminary in this 
city. I cannot but notice, as an extraordinary coincidence, that 
the very man who expelled him has, at this time, come out and 
astonished the world by a pompous and flaming production in 
favour of general communion , Catholicism, and Christian charity. 
I wish he would inform the world whether he intends they shall 
follow his book , or his example. I cannot express what gratitude 
I feel to Providence, that though Bonner and Gardiner should 
revive, they would not find, in this country, a goverment ready 
to second their intolerance by the flames of persecution. The 
tiger may show his teeth and growl, but he cannot bite. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


2 * 


18 


No. IV. 

With no design to exaggerate or colour too highly, I have, in 
the preceding numbers, given a sketch of the incessant strain of 
preaching pursued in many congregations of this city. I have 
not misrepresented, neither have I withheld the truth. As I said, 
I have no controversy with any man : and am willing to give full 
credit to the learning and talents of many who teach these doc- 
trines. Indeed, I have a charitable hope that some of them 
imagine they are labouring in the cause of truth. But truth will 
one day instruct them that, as “ they have sown the wind they 
shall reap the whirlwind.” 

I will not undertake to say that all the vices of the city are 
chargeable to the account of their errors ; far from it ; but I will 
undertake to say that their doctrines are calculated, and tend, 
to drive men to skepticism, deism, atheism, libertinism ; nay, to 
madness. The rash and unwary man that enters their assembly 
is amazed to hear his assent challenged to propositions from 
which his understanding revolts with horror : assertions are ar- 
rogantly, as it were, crammed down his throat, which insult his 
reason. He is told he can do nothing, yet threatened with end- 
less perdition for his neglect. He is condemned for a sin he never 
committed ; commanded to do what he is told he cannot do ; 
and exhorted to believe in a Saviour who never died for him. 

The muddiness, the confusion, the arrogance with which these 
sentiments are hurled forth in a storm of popular eloquence, or 
shall I say vociferation, precludes all possibility of conviction. 
One man sits and hears it with that kind of stupid amazement 
with which we hear a hail storm rattling upon the roof, and 
thunder rolling over our heads, till he is stunned into a kind of 
thoughtless reverie, and gathers as much from it as Cushi did 
from the defeat of Absalom : “ I saw a great tumult, my lord, 0 
king, but knew not what it was.” Another hears it with con- 
tempt and secret indignation, and as he retires, musing says to 
himself, “ are these the boasted principles and doctrines of reli- 
gion, said to be so luminous, so simple, so rational, so intelligible 
so convincing ?” But these teachers will tell him, for his consola- 


19 


tion, “ No wonder you don’t understand these truths, for they 
are evangelical truths, and you are a natural man ; therefore you 
cannot understand them.” Wretched subterfuge ! As wise and 
as profound as if a man should say to me that “ two and two are 
fifteen, and it is only because you want mathematical skill that 
you can’t perceive it.” Alas ! what huge masses of flummery, 
falsehood, false doctrine ; what immense cargoes of wood, hay, 
and stubble, the lumber and trash of speculation and fanaticism, 
are vended as evangelical truth, which the natural man cannot 
understand ! 

These teachers are often heard to bewail the departure of Bos- 
ton from the faith ; and I will not deny that there is much, very 
much, in Boston, to be lamented, on the ground of the decay of 
morals and sound principles ; but this I say and predict, as the 
fate of this city, should the masses of people increase, who are 
the followers, catechumens, admirers, and bearers of these teach- 
ers, and I perceive the ichneumon of ambition to have smitten 
these gentlemen with fangs of no ordinary venom, for they aim 
to be the head and not the tail , the following consequences may 
be expected : 

1. The strain of preaching will abound more with empty de_ 
clamation, and less with good sense : for, even now, every young 
man that issues from their school “ out Herods Herod;” bold as- 
sertions will take the place of arguments ; and authority, that of 
evidence : confusion and obscurity will be gazed at, with awful 
solemnity, as the profound of heavenly wisdom, and a set of cant 
phrases consecrated as the true language of Zion. 

2. The churches, even the special flock of these teachers — 
the most pious and discriminating among them, will not be in- 
structed, indoctrinated, or well informed, for they will not have 
the means of information, being taught to regard sound reason- 
ing asworldly wisdom, just distinctions as metaphysical poison, 
and the dogmas of their teachers as spiritual truth. 

3. The great mass of their congregations will throng their 
churches from Sabbath to Sabbath, with a perfectly vacant cu- 
riosity, some to hear elequence, as they go to hear Cooper at 
the theatre, not caring what he says : some to see fashions — to 
meet company : — very innocently believing because so taught, 


20 


that religion is a matter nowise connected with man’s intel- 
lectual and moral powers, they will hear with calm indifference 
every thing as it comes ; the anomalous monsters of the doc- 
trine will float through their imaginations as things of course, or 
as an April shadow over a hill : the awful themes of guilt, sin, 
and damnation, reverberate from their ears as from the cold and 
deaf walls ; and if they . take the least notice of what is said, it 
will be only to say, “ Very well, I can’t help it.” 

4. From these immense beds of mental inaction, and moral 
deformity, will spring a race of “ serpents,” which empty decla- 
mation cannot frighten, and a reason totally blind cannot pursue 
or parry. In a city like this, there are great numbers of youth 
of elevated minds, quick conceptions, strong passions, and libe- 
ral education. They know that reason was not given to man to 
be trammelled with absurdities, and trampled in the dust. They 
will turn iudignant from these “ strange doctrines, and will 
prefer rather to follow the light of nature or, perhaps, they 
will say, t£ If these doctrines be true, my condition cannot be 
worse than it is ; and at any rate, I cannot make it any better by 
my exertions. Let me then enjoy pleasure while I can.” 

These doctrines have already produced such reasonings, and 
such resolutions. They have already taken deep root, and shot 
up into an enormous growth ; and while these teachers are look- 
ing abroad to other cities with proud comparison, and self-ap- 
plauding pity, they have around them, and near them, in their 
congregations, I will not say in their churches, a myriad of unbe- 
lievers of their own forming. They are converts in terms , but 
infidels in fact. They assent with wonderful facility to all they 
hear. “ 0 yes ! it is all very true.” And then, in the secret coun- 
sels of their own hearts, they are behind a screen at all points. 
They look on the deluge or the rainbow with equal eye. They 
hear the thunders of the law, or the accents of mercy, with equal 
feeling and temper. They are fortified with boldness, armed with 
pride, seasoned with selfishness. Talk to them about the guilt 
of sin ; they throw it all back on Adam : about duty to God ; 
they say, “ I cannot perform it ; and you teach me so.” Allude 
to a Saviour, they reply, “ Perhaps he did not die for me, and if 
so, there is no provision, even if I should believe ; besides, you 


21 


allow, and you teach, that I am under no obligation to believe, 
till the Saviour shows me that I am one of his. But if I am, 
in reality, one of his, he will in his own time and way, show 
me that I am such. Therefore, I am at rest. 

Streams of error, however specious, however popular, con- 
tinually pouring through a mass of population, will produce 
effects. Like a river whose deep and rapid waters eat and un- 
dermine its banks, they threaten extensive and inevitable de- 
struction. If the lapse of years shall not shew, that the aggre- 
gate of people, who have steadily heard these doctrines, have 
become irreligious, profligate, and abandoned ; if successive ge- 
nerations of youth who shall arise under such moral and intel- 
lectual culture, do not grow up progressively ignorant, disso- 
lute, and profane, I shall rejoice to have it appear that my fore- 
bodings were groundless. But as I am fully aware that the di- 
vine blessing is necessary to render even the truth successful, I 
am equally sure that the God of truth does not crown with his 
blessing the ministration of error. 

5. Religion itself, when it has the misfortune to spring up, or 
by any means be placed under this regimen, will not fail to wear 
an aspect sickly and repulsive ; it is an exotic in these soils, and 
will resemble a fair plant brought from the genial climes of sum- 
mer, to pine beneath the northern blast, or be smothered in the 
gaseous fumes of a hot-house. Error, even the abstract doctrines 
and speculations of theology, exerts a direct influence on a man’s 
conduct ; and there are few common maxims more false or per- 
nicious than that if a man acts right it is no matter what his spe- 
culative notions are. Show me a strenuous believer in the doc- 
trine of original sin, as above stated, and I will show you a man 
who, generally speaking, feels no very acute sense of the deme- 
rit of sin. He views it as a kind of inevitable constitution of 
things, which must, indeed, be just, because God is just; he 
views it a3 a kind of grand mysterious artifice, to the bottom of 
which he cannot see ; as a kind of lechnica theologica , which 
never did, and never will, give any human soul any very pun- 
gent feelings. When he contemplates Adam’s act, he does not 
feel like the murderer, who, while he washes his hands, fancies 
he sees the crimson stain return. The idea o* guilt transferred 


22 

does not wither and blast the soul of the criminal like that of 
actual transgression. 

Again ; the man who believes in a fatal natural incapacity to 
obey God, derived even from the first progenitor of men, must 
view it with the same tone of feeling as he views transferred 
guilt. He did not choose the condition in which to be born, 
and cannot feel himself in any way accountable for it. He may, 
indeeed, consider it as a very bad condition, but then he had no 
hand in it, and can feel no blame for it, any more than a man 
can feel blameworthy because he was born in Europe and not 
in America. In a word, he views it in the same mysterious, the 
same technical light he does the doctrine before mentioned : 
and whatever he may pretend, his own heart will secretly say 
to him, “ What I cannot do, I cannot, and why should I give 
myself unavailing trouble concerning it ?” 

Again ; this Christian believes that Christ died for him, on 
which account, he thinks he loves him very much. Well, and 
what certain evidence of goodness is there in all this ? “ Do not 
even sinners love those that love them ?” Is it a high evidence 
of a man’s piety, that he feels grateful to any one who has done 
him a great favour ? — Surely not. But to maintain their ground 
here, they are pushed forward to say that there is, in fact, no 
such thing as disinterested love. They even endeavour to 
throw ridicule upon the phrase, as without meaning — a phrase 
as old as our language, and conveying an idea as old as religion 
itself. But, for this, they have a very obvious motive ; because 
it presents a sword, if I may so say, to the very bosom and heart 
of their scheme. But there is another term which worries 
them still more than this, and that is selfishness — they cannot 
bear it ; they wince under it, and would fain endeavour to ex- 
punge that also from our language. To use a low comparison, 
it offends them as deeply as it did the tailor, in the old story, t$ 
hear the name of cracklouse. “ So saying, thou reproachest 
us also.” They seem to feel that their scheme is a selfish one. 
And if, in fact, to make our own interest and happiness the highest 
and ruling motive of our conduct, may be termed selfishness, their 
scheme of religion is purely selfish. 

And while I cast no personal reflections, I do not hesitate to 


23 


say, that men ardently attached to these speculative notions, 
have never been found to be remarkably benevolent in their con- 
duct. They are accused of sourness, bigotry, narrowness. I 
appeal to the eye of the public. Let every man judge for him- 
self. There are certainly exceptions to this remark : but even 
numerous and splendid exceptions cannot impair a general rule. 

Let the word selfishness be expunged from our language, be- 
cause certain religious sectarians avow it to be right, yet do not 
relish the term on account of a popular odium attached to it : — 
expunge also the word disinterested , partly because an un- 
meaning term, though Addison, Johnson, Watts, Tillotson, and 
Baxter, knew its meaning well, and thought it important and ap- 
propriate, when applied to certain actions : and partly because, if 
it mean any thing, its meaning is far too pure and lofty to be ap- 
plied to fallen man : — expunge also the term virtue , because they 
say there is no such thing in either saints or sinners, and you will 
avoid much cause of offence to the advocates of these doctrines. 
But when you find a man avowedly selfish, never disinterested, 
and never virtuous, what sort of a man will he be ? I answer, in 
religion he will be an Essene ; — full of contemplation — high 
frames — heated zeal — lofty conceits — great confidence — and 
much holier than others ; — but he is as soon cold as hot. In the 
world, and in business, he is steady to his text ; — selfish — never 
disinterested — and not remarkably virtuous. Yes, he vibrates 
rapidly from the ardours of Vesuvius, to the chill of Greenland — 
burning or freezing whatever he touches. This is what I call an 
Antinomian. 

The question is, how a religion of this complexion will affect 
the character, morals, and future welfare of this great city. A 
question of a moment ; — a question in which religious teachers 
have some concern, since they are answerable for its effects. 
Foster has shown, in his Essay on that subject, why men of taste 
and learning are often found to despise religion. He says, it is 
because it is frequently obtruded upon their attention in a garb 
unsuitable to its character : and, I say, oftener because its lovely 
features are distorted— its glorious doctrines perverted— though, 
oftener still, because they are unfriendly to the carnal mind. If 
the officers sent to aporehend our Saviour, when they heard him, 


24 


cried out, “ Never man spake like this man !” — the man of taste 
and learning, who hears these doctrines, will cry out in a similar 
manner, but with a different import. 

Alas ! I foresee the effects of the scheme ; and I remark, in the 
last place, 

6. If its most pious and devout followers derive from it an as- 
pect unlovely and repulsive — if it obscure the beauties of reli- 
gion, it will surely present no barrier to vice : — if it deform the 
noblest system of truth ever presented to the human mind, it 
will no less facilitate the advancement of dangerous errors, with 
progressive influence, and with the power of an extended lever. 
When Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judg- 
ment, Felix trembled. There is a power in gospel truth to carry 
conviction to the heart, which shall influence men’s conduct — 
which shall impose at least a partial restraint, though the work 
be not profound, and the reformation total and lasting. But it is 
the singular infelicity of these doctrines, not to impose , but to re- 
move restraint ; to promote pride, and not humility : — it is not 
the trumpet of alarm, but the deadly soporific potion, that lulls to 
security, inaction, and repose. Nothing but a consciousness of 
wilful neglect can awaken the mind to a sense of guilt : — nothing 
but transgressions, far nearer home than Adam, points the soul to 
the dark avenue of perdition. 

The extent and prevalence of the influences of these doctrines, 
in this city, is a proof that God intends to scourge it. They will 
not produce reformation. They will not stimulate people to good 
works ; and as they sweep off all pretensions to moral virtue at 
one blow — all due consciousness of guilt, at another— all efforts 
to obtain salvation, at a third — they shut the book of God, and 
substitute for its dictates the expositions of a set of men who un- 
blushingly profess to be selfish and interested in all they do. 

I have hitherto taken no notice of the ulterior consequences 
of these tenets, or the influence they will exert on the eternal in- 
terests of mankind. I have considered religious institutions as a 
civil or political good. In this light I am concerned to perceive 
this unwholesome strain of public instruction gradually under- 
mining the main pillars of moral, consequently, of social virtue. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


25 


No. V. 

I said the catechumens, admirers, and special flock of these 
teachers, had not the means of becoming thoroughly indoctri- 
nated in the various subjects of revelation. They seldom go out 
of the triangle, unless it be by some of those fortunate self con- 
tradictions, in which they unconsciously stumble into the field 
of truth. They then sometimes speak well for a few minutes. 

“ Purpureus pannus qui splendeat unus et alter.” 

But these scattered, splendid patches, are not shades which 
heighten the beauties of a picture, but accidental lights which 
discover the terrors of a dungeon. There is another privation 
far more to be lamented than this. The throngs of people who 
statedly attend their instructions are carefully prevented from 
imbibing any different system. Even in this land of liberty and 
free discussion, it is incredible with.what success these practices 
are attempted. The people, for the most part, are persuaded, 
every man, to put on his own bandage about his eyes and ears. 
Those who would not readily do that, are effectually cut off from 
all access to light by other means. The bustle, business, and hurry 
of a great city prevents thousands from taking time for much 
inquiry. As to books, they are good or bad, at once, according to 
the ipse dixit of Dr. Buckrum, for who is so good a judge as he ? — 
As to preaching, every preacher is eventually excluded from 
their pulpits, unless he is known to be a faithful disciple of their 
scheme ; i. e. triangular — and their people are most assiduously 
dissuaded from going to other churches, even occasionally. If 
any one, who has by chance ascended one of their desks, hap- 
pens to strike on a string which does not vibrate in unison with 
theirs, they are offended — they clamour, censure, inveigh ; he is 
accused of gross indelicacy, and high presumption. But, as for 
them, they never quit their triangle, preach where they will, or 
when they may ; nor do they fail to call to their aid whatever 
they can command of argument, satire, or ridicule. 

I hope I shall not be thought censorious, but, howefver that 
3 


26 


may be, I shall not refrain from the truth, which is unchangeable 
and immortal. These gentlemen, in manoeuvring, occasionally 
display two sets of colours. There needs no greater proof of this 
than the book before alluded to, on “ general communion .” Had 
the author’s pen been plucked from the wings of the graces, and 
dipped in the colours of the rainbow : — had the leaves of his book 
been composed of the flowers, and perfumed with the dews of 
Paradise, it could not have been a more charitable, loving, bland 
production. But is the man always so ? Was he so when he ex- 
pelled Mr. D from his seminary ! 

Who does he expect to allure to his arms by this gentle warbling 
on the soft tones of love and union ? Surely, none of the mighty 
multitude of Christians composing three-fourths of that profes- 
sion in the United States ; for he has cut them all asunder by one 
expulsion. Had they but one neck, he would serve them as 
Nero wished to serve the Romans, i. e. in an ecclesiastical sense. 
He has put them all into the “ snare of the Devil,” and declared 
them not to be endured, no, not for an hour. His book re- 
minds me of the fabled songs of the Syrens : — but I suspect few 
will approach the rocks, for many know the voice. 

These gentlemen, at certain times, and when in certain com- 
panies, have been heard to say, that “ These differences of opi- 
nion about doctrines are more in words than ideas ; that they 
are of small moment — ought not to interrupt the harmony of 
Christians — that, after all, we all think essentially alike,” &c. — 
But, at other times, they speak a far different language : they cry 
out, “ delusion ! — heresy ! — blasphemy !” And this is what I 
call two sets of colours, to be used as occasion may serve. 

But their most terrible argument, and which they keep always 
at hand, ready to dispense to weak and credulous people, is wor- 
thy of particular attention. When any one attacks their scheme, 
they immediately exclaim, “ That man is not a Calvinist.” As 
though Calvin and Christ stood on equal footing. This argu- 
ment is intended to strike their adversaries dumb, and carry the 
world before it. The Mahometans seem to prefer Mahomet to 
Christ because he was nearer their own times : this may not be 
the case with those humble devotees to Calvin : but they regard 


27 


his authority as supreme and paramount. I am sorry to add, 
that, in this respect, there seem to be several little microscopic 
Calvins about this city, growing fast in strength and stature. 

Could the decline of the Christian church be traced to its real 
causes ; could the seeds of those fatal errors, the germ of those 
deep apostacies be discovered, which have spread ruin and dark- 
ness through Christendom, they would appear to lie in this, viz. 
a substitution of the authority of men for the word of God. 
Their language is, “ that is, indeed, the word of God, but I am 
its expositor, and you must follow my expositions.” Hence have 
originated creeds, formularies, liturgies, confessions of faith, 
standards, bulls. But this is not the end. These creeds and 
standards are but ink and paper. They must have an expositor. 

One is at hand. These expositors “ are the men, 

and wisdom shall die with them.” It is the invariable policy of 
ambitious men to keep one on the pinnacle of power and gran- 
deur. They then have nothing to do but shove and clamber. 
But these men are far from doing as Calvin did. Calvin rose 
by his own energy and merit. These men are endeavouring to 
ascend the slippery steep on the merits and favour of Calvin. 

It is, I believe, but four or five years since a number of wise 
heads were laid together to beat down and crush the errors of a 
set of men denominated Hopkinsians, who, by the by, follow 
Hopkins about as much as I wish to follow Calvin. What me- 
thod did they take 1 — They employed a catspaw to write a book 
entitled The Contrast. In the solemn trumpery of 500 pages 
there are a great many instances called up, in which these Hop- 
kinsians are said to differ from Calvin ; as though this was suffi- 
cient to condemn them. But in order to affect this dreadful 
work, this writer, or his masters rather, were obliged to get 
both Hopkins and Calvin on the rack, to garble, dissect, distort, 
and misrepresent, many passages, in the most huge and flagrant 
manner. But no matter ; many people were made to believe 
that Hopkins differed from Calvin ; and that was sufficient. If 
Calvin believed that a rat’s tail was five inches long, and Hop- 
kins asserted it was seven, it was abundant ; “ the Contrast ” was 
clearly and ably made out ; and Hopkins was in an error, though 
the rat’s tail had never been measured. 


28 


But I shall here despatch what I have to say of Calvin in a 
few words : — I believe in many doctrines, perhaps in most, taught 
by Calvin, but not in all. He was a man of great energy of 
mind and decision of character, and, I trust, a religious man. The 
haughtiness and acerbity of his temper I dislike, and, as an ec- 
clesiastical pioneer and legislator, he more resembled Lycurgus 
than Solon. From the persecution he suffered, one might have 
imagined his mind would have been blanched from such foul 
stains as intolerance and persecution ; but it was the spirit of 
the age in which he lived : — “ fuit temporum culpa non ejus.” 
Could Calvin have lived a century ; — could his design have been 
ripened into action, and his wishes crowned with success, he 
would have made Geneva the head of the Protestant church, and 
himself the head of Geneva. If in this, and some other respects, 
he resembled Cromwell, he differed from him in that he was a 
far better, more upright and honest man. Less bold and intrepid 
than Luther, less amiable and benevolent than Melancthon, he 
was more acute, penetrating, and industrious than either, and 
was the most thorough, severe, and independent reformer of 
the three. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. VI. 

When you rouse a nest of prejudices, especially those which 
are fortified by interest and popularity, you may be assured they 
will sting like wasps and hornets : nay, they would often 4 ‘ sting 
their victim dead,” had they power. This has been the true 
source of religious persecution. Love of truth never raised a 
persecution: that frightful demon “is made of sterner stuff.” 
It springs from ambition — a desire to govern the opinions of 
others ; and a religious ambition is by far the worst, the most 
rancorous, the most hateful and unreasonable specimen of its 
kind that ever infested the world; it is a direct invasion of 
the rights of conscience — an atrocious and infamous invasion 


29 


of the rights of God and man. A man wishes me to think as he 
does, in order that I may subserve his purposes ; not considering 
that I have the same right to my opinions that he has to his. 

For example, I have my own opinions concerning Original 
Sin , Depravity , and Atonement. Why should a man be angry at 
me because I think for myself on these subjects ? Why should 
he, when he meets me in the street, cock up his nose, knit his 
eyebrows, shrug his shoulders, look askance, and glide by me 
like a basalisk, whose very silence tells me how much venom he 
has got in his bag ? I should not define these traits so readily and 
so closely, but I have seen them so often, that I am like the En- 
glish sculptor who has visited Italy, and of course takes nothing 
from the descriptions of others. It is not merely because he is 
a nascent microscopic Calvin — or, if I may so speak, a Calvini- 
culus , and therefore wishes me to think like his great master. 
No : — he is not so disinterested as all that. It is because I dare 
be independent enough to think differently from him, and, there- 
fore, do not follow in his train. His own conscience will not 
allow him, for a moment, to harbour the idea that he is led to this 
conduct from the love of truth. The love of truth renders men 
meek, amiable, and candid — generous, affectionate, and conde- 
scending. Besides, who is to be the judge of truth? — I have 
the same right to judge for myself that he has. We are both 
equally accountable to God for our opinions. 

We know not how the heavenly bodies move ; yet we per- 
ceive their motions uniform, grand, and beautiful. The consti- 
tution under which creatures exist in this world, though it is 
mysterious, yet we perceive it to be universal, regular, and un- 
alterable. One of its first and most obvious laws is, that all 
creatures, which come into being in a series of generations, have 
power to propogate that series, and that every creature shall 
produce its own likeness. Whatever of mystery there may be 
in this constitution, it appeal s upon inspection to be necessary, 
useful, and beautiful. If a bramble could spring from the grape, 
a thorn from an olive tree ; — if a dove could produce a serpent, 
or a lamb could spring from a tiger, all order and harmony — 
all security, usefulness, and beauty, would fall sacrifices to uni- 
versal disappointment, confusion, deformity, and misery. 


30 


Man, though the noblest of terrestrial creatures, by the sove- 
reign constitution of his Maker, exists under this general law 
and it is admitted and believed, that, had our first parents re- 
mained in a state of rectitude, they would have continued happy 
and immortal ; and that all their posterity would have, in these 
respects, been like them. Whatever mankind derive from their 
first parents must, by the divine constitution, resemble the 
source from whence derived ; and experience shows that they 
have derived a nature, which, when matured into action, will 
act sinfully. Hence their nature is properly said to be corrupt, 
and they are in scripture called, “ degenerate plants of a strange 
vine.” But blame cannot be charged to the account of any crea- 
ture prior to, and exclusive of, the consideration of his own 
voluntary disposition and conduct. 

I beg the reader to examine the preceding few remarks ; to 
divest himself of all prejudice in favour of names and authori- 
ties, and he will perceive that they are almost self-evidently 
true. If the subject may be illustrated by the analogy which 
it bears to the constitution of the natural world, Adam was con- 
stituted the head of the human race, in the same sense that the 
first apple tree was constituted the head of apple trees ; or the 
first lion the head of all lions ; and all lions acted in the first lion, 
as all mankind acted in Adam. 

The word of God teaches that the human race were ruined by 
the fall of our first parents. It was so from the sovereign con- 
stitution already stated. “ By one man sin entered into the 
world, and death by sin, wherefore death hath passed upon all 
men, for that all have sinned .” If, in consequence of Adam’s fall, 
all his posterity derived from him a sinful nature, then it is pro- 
per to say, that, “ by the offence of one , many were made sinners ;” 
and so, of necessity, “ by the offence of one, judgment came 
upon all men to condemnation.” 

If nothing depended on the exposition of these passages of St. 
Paul, it must be admitted that this mode of expounding them is 
fair and liberal. Indeed, it is clear, that by these expressions he 
means to allude to the grand constitution already explained, and 
which experience every moment illustrates before our eyes. 
But important consequences flow from a right understanding of 


31 


these and sundry similar passages of scripture. For, if they 
are understood to establish the idea that Adam’s crime, guilt, 
and character, are in fact transferred to his descendants, prior to 
the consideration of their own moral character ; if they are con- 
demned for his act, independently of their own, then the first 
principles of immutable and eternal justice are supervened and 
destroyed, and innumerable solemn and express declarations of 
holy writ are contradicted. 

“ What mean ye that ye use this proverb concerning the land 
of Israel, saying, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the 
children’s teeth are set on edge ? — As I live, saith the Lord God, 
ye shall not have occasion any more to use this proverb in 
Israel. Behold ! all souls are mine ; as the soul of the father, 
so also the soul of the son is mine. The soul that sinneth , it 
shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor 
the father the iniquity of the son. Hear now, O house of Israel, 
is not my way equal, are not your ways unequal ?” 

But these words were addressed particularly to the house of 
Israel. What then ? They go, unequivocally, to the main point 
for which I contend ; and establish it with great force and clear- 
ness. God here condescends to vindicate his character from 
the charge thrown on it by the house of Israel, which was that 
his way was unequal. He, therefore, by a solemn oath, delares 
they shall no longer use that proverb, which indicates the impu- 
tation of guilt, and transfer of character from father to son. 
“ All souls are mine. The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The 
son shall not bear the iniquity of the father,” &c. The equality 
and justice of the divine government are predicated on this de- 
claration, and do certainly depend essentially on the truth of it : 
and it is fairly and strongly implied, that, were the son condemned 
for the sin of his father, the way of God would not he equal . 

Some, indeed, evade these remarks and conclusions by say- 
ing, humorously, that Ezekiel was rather inclined to Armnian- 
ism. Alas, for poor Ezekiel and James ! they neither of them 
stand very high in the opinion of the hyper-calvinist : they were 
rather lax. 

It never entered into the heart of any of the sacred and in- 
spired writers, from Moses to St. John, that Adam’s posterity 


32 


were any otherwise involved in this crime and guilt than that 
human nature was originally and entirely corrupted in conse- 
quence of his apostacy. The first parents being sinful, frail, 
mortal, and miserable, such are their offspring. The doctrine 
of a real transfer of character, and imputation of guilt, over and 
above all this, would suppose “ the children’s teeth to be set on 
edge” with a vengeance. Yet volumes have been written to 
make it out ; absurdities have been heaped upon absurdities ; 
thousands of pages have been written to show that we all acted 
in Adam ; and men have strained their eyes to see how that could 
be, till they become bloodshot — nay, even blind. And they re- 
mind me of Erasmus’ story of seven men, who went to take a 
ride, one clear fine day, with Poole. As they were riding along 
the road, Poole, to make himself sport, looked up into the hea- 
vens, and suddenly crossing himself in pretended surprise, de- 
clared he saw in the sky a monstrous dragon with fiery horns, 
and his tail turned up into a circle. They all, very much as- 
tonished at the declaration, looked up, ^ut saw nothing. “ Can’t 
you see it,” continued Poole, “ It is there! You must certain- 
ly be blind. Amazing ! How terrible it looks. Don’t you see 
it yet ? Oh ! I never saw such a sight in all my life before. 
You certainly must see it.” In short, after a while, one, a little 
more credulous than the rest, said, I think I do see it. Yes, 
yes — I see it plainly. At this, another fancied he saw it. And, 
says Erasmus, some, by force of imagination, others fearing they 
should be thought less sharp-sighted than the rest, confessed they 
saw it : and they soon all came in, without a dissenting voice. 
The next day a particular account of the prodigy was published in 
the papers, authenticated by the testimony of six or seven credi- 
ble men. 

To candid, unprejudiced men, I shall use but one argument 
to prove we did not act in Adam ; and that is, because we did 
not exist till long after Adam left the world. 


INVESTIGATOR. 


33 


No. VII. 

Depravity consists in the want of holiness, or, if you please, 
love of sin ; and has no connexion, strictly speaking, with a man’s 
ability to do right or to do wrong. In this sense I consider man- 
kind by nature as totally depraved, for they have no love to God, 
to his law, or government, or gospel. They have no incapacity 
to do right but what arises from their love to do wrong ; there is 
no bar in the way of their doing their whole duty, but their dis- 
inclination to do it. Their love of sin, though voluntary, is so 
decided and uniform, their disinclination to obey God, though 
free, is so determined and strong, that some have been pleased, 
for the sake of distinction, to term it a moral inability . 

If it must be admitted as a perfection and felicity, in any lan- 
guage when it is stored with words and phrases fully adapted to 
express, without tedious circumlocution, the various ideas we 
may wish to convey, it surely cannot be denied that the phrase, 
moral inability , is both useful and necessary. If it be convenient 
to have a phrase which shall express, in a clear and simple man- 
ner, the impediment which arises from a strong disinclination 
to do a thing, or a voluntary determination not to do it, the 
phrase before us is convenient. I am unable to pluck the sun 
from his station in the heavens ; this is called a natural inabili- 
ty. I am unable to ascend a tower and throw my3elf down ; 
this is a moral inability. And, using words according to their 
common and popular import, in the former of these cases there 
is a want of ability ; in the latter a want of will. 

However the sinner’s inability may be considered, whether 
natural or moral ; whether in want of ability, or in want of will, 
one thing is certain, the above distinction exists, and has been re- 
cognized by the ablest, most perspicuous, and most classical wri- 
ters in our language, and probably in all languages. Indeed, there 
is not a day passes, there is scarcely an occurrence in which this 
phraseology is not adopted; and I am bold to say, none use it 
oftener than those very persons who inveigh so bitterly against 
moral inability as an idle and useless distinction. Every body, 
learned and unlearned, old and young, use the phrase, and under- 


34 


stands it. Every one is in the habit of saying, when he feels an 
utter disinclination to do a thing, “ I cannot do it When he is 
determined not to do a certain act, “ I cannot do it : I am unable 
to do it.” This phrase prevails in all sorts of business, on all 
occasions, in all books, and in all languages, and the man who 
condemns the distinction has nothing to shield him from the 
charge of dishonesty but incorrigible ignorance. 

Now, no great stretch of metaphysics is necessary to perceive, 
that if it be proper for me to say I cannot do an act, merely be- 
cause I am determined not to do it, it is proper also to call that a 
moral inability, to distinguish it from that inability which arises 
from want of power. 

Having shown what I mean by a moral inability ; having said, 
as I think, enough to put the adversaries of this distinction both 
to silence and to shame, I now proceed to observe, in brief, 
that mankind labor under no other kind of inability to perform 
the whole duty which God requires of them. In proof of this, 
had I time, I might quote almost the entire volume of Scripture. 
Were a hundred prisoners chained, like Baron Trenck, by massy 
links and staples to the floor and walls of their prison, should a 
man go into the prison and begin to exhort them to hasten out 
without delay ; what would they think of him ? they would take 
him either for a tyrant come to insult their helplessness, or for a 
madman or an idiot ; and they would reply to his exhortation, 
do you not see these chains 1 why do you insult us? 

An exhortation or command to do a duty, always implies a be- 
lief in the one who exhorts, that he, to whom the exhortation is 
given, is capable of doing the duty enjoined upon him. If this great 
principle be denied, the plainest dictates of common sense and 
justice are abolished and done away, and the Bible becomes a 
book of riddles and contradictions. It is, indeed, such gross per- 
version of the plainest dictates of reason, justice, and common 
sense, that has filled all Christendom with infidels, atheists, and 
apostates ; — that has shrouded the Christian church with dark- 
ness — filled her with impurity and rottenness, and smitten her 
with decline and consumption. 

A great part of the Bible is made up of exhortations, persua- 
sions, and commands to mankind, to forsake their sins, and to 


35 


love and obey God. But a set of preachers come forward and 
employ a large portion of all their sermons in persuading people 
that they cannot do any of these things, which God, and his pro- 
phets and apostles have exhorted and commanded them to do, 
any more than they can pluck the sun from the heavens. And 
when one endeavours to relieve the difficulty, by showing that 
their inability is only of the moral kind, consisting in want of 
will, and not of power, an outcry is raised, he is hooted and 
accounted as an Arminian, and the people assured, over and over 
again, that their inability is a true and natural incapacity, or want 
of power. 

Every one knows that universal assent, (“quod est norma lo- 
quendi”) has rendered it as proper for me to say, I cannot throw 
myself into a furnace, or from a precipice, as it is to say, I can- 
not overturn a mountain. But these “ cannots ” are of a very dif- 
ferent character — one is a mere want of will, the other is a total 
want of power. What rational ground of objection is there to 
calling one a natural, the other a moral inability ? The distinc- 
tion is clear — it is easily perceived — it is useful ; for, in fact, 
none is more used ; it is necessary, because no other simple 
phrase can express it. Who does not percieve how it alters the 
case, whether a man is prevented from doing his duty by want 
of will, or by want of power? And, I add, this distinction 
applies to one of the most important doctrines of religion.' Yet 
these triangular divines cannot perceive it ; but their cannot is a 
will not . And how hard it is to make a man see what he will 
not ; for none are so blind as those who will not see. If you 
even seize them by the shoulders, and turn them by main 
strength round towards the object, they will then turn away 
their face. But if you force their heads round in the direction, 
they will then shut their eyes ; force open their eyelids, and 
they roll away their eyeballs. 

The violent opposition to this grand and obvious distinction 
arises from this, that, if once admitted, their scheme of depravi- 
ty is overthrown. Their successful opposition is, to them, worth 
as much as victory. 

The scripture writers wrote long before modern controversies 
had given a technical meaning to half the terms in theology ; 


36 


long before the church had been dressed up in the stays of Aris- 
totle, or tricked out in the rags, ribands, and fringes of oriental 
philosophy. They stood in no fear of the pedantic square and 
compasses of the learned Dr. Buckram. Their style, though 
bold and figurative, was free and popular, and easy to be un- 
derstood. Indeed, as to the great doctrines of religion, it is 
easy to be understood by us, at this distant day, except where 
covered by the cobwebs of biblical critics, and entangled, by the 
bewildered and bewildering brains of learned theorists, who sit 
plodding in their studies, till they become enveloped in clouds 
and vapours, and are fairly led into the great, great dismal , by 
an ignis fatuus ; or, like one of the most learned and best of 
men, imagine themselves a teapot. 

It is impossible to follow the strain of exhortation which flows 
unceasingly through the Old and New Testament, and not per- 
ceive that it was given on the full persuasion and assurance that 
men are fully able to do what they are exhorted to do ; that 
their only impediment lies in the will, and is, of course, their 
crime ; whereas, if it lay in want of power, it would be their ex- 
cuse. But I am mortified, I blush for human nature, that it is 
necessary to insist on this point. That it should ever have been 
doubted, is full proof of moral depravity — of wilful blindness. 

Those who insist on a true and natural inability in the sinner 
to obey God, furnish him with the best excuse imaginable ; for 
he will say, I cannot do right, and, therefore, lam not to blame. 
Whereas, those who lay all the blame on the will, devest him of 
all excuse, and effectually convince him of criminality. And 
this is probably the clue to that flaming zeal to abolish the dis- 
tinction of moral inability evinced by many, and the readiness 
to embrace the doctrine of these teachers, by a still greater 
number. While paying, as they imagine, a profound compli- 
ment to the shrine of humility, they find their pride and sloth 
sufficiently gratified. 

But the advocates and disseminators of error have generally 
sterner and more cogent motives than are intrinsical to their 
system, otherwise their mighty structures would soon crumble 
to their foundation, and vanish “ into air — thin air.” These mo- 
tives grow out of their particular circumstances : in short, they 


37 


are selfish motives, arising from interest and ambition. And, 
surely, the professed champions of selfishness eannot be dis- 
gusted with the charge of a little selfishness, since they assume 
the thing charged by avowing the principle. Their selfish mo 
tives I shall hereafter notice. 

If the term inability be at all applicable to a man when no- 
thing impedes him but disinclination, the sinner’s inability must 
be pronounced wholly of the moral kind. This can be shown, 
to a degree of certainty approaching as near to mathematical de- 
monstration as any proposition of an abstract and moral nature. 
It was far from the design of these numbers to enter into the de- 
tails of argument ; and it shall suffice to say, that the sinner can 
do his whole duty, because that duty is easy, and adapted to the 
powers and faculties of all rational minds. If it be easy to be- 
lieve what is made clearly evident, and to love that which is in- 
finitely beautiful, the sinner’s duty is easy. The sinner can do 
his duty because that duty is prescribed by an infinitely wise and 
good being, who knows how to adapt his requirements to the 
capacities of his creatures, and whose wisdom and goodness are 
manifested by that adaption. That nothing prevents him from 
conforming to all divine requirements but want of will to do it, 
is evident from the whole word of God, in which his nonconfor- 
mity is invariably placed on that footing alone, and is in no place 
ascribed to any other cause. The continual exhortations and 
commands of God show us how God himself estimates the sin- 
ner’s ability ; and the duty to perform, and the ability to perform 
it, are the exact measures of each other ; in short, obligation and 
ability correspond, and run parallel with each other, and cease 
together. All just notions of the nature and powers of a moral 
agent, set this point in the clearest light ; and when I hear a man 
begin to talk about a moral agency to do wrong, but not to do 
right, I feel myself much in the predicament of St. Anthony 
when lecturing the fishes : and did I not know that a moral agent 
might be very ignorant, I should almost be tempted to deny that 
exalted rank to such superlative ignorance. 

To believe in absurdities, and things evidently false, and to 
practise supposed impossibilities, requires, indeed, a monstrous 
stretch of faith, and an incredible degree of power; perhaps 
4 


38 


these strenuous advocates of man’s natural, or, if you please, 
physical inability, get that idea from the peculiar complexion of 
their scheme. I am willing, for one, to do them the justice to 
confess that I labor under a true natural inability to believe in 
their doctrines, or practice, agreeably to their faith. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. VIII. 

My present object is, without descending to elaborate argu- 
ment, to convey, in as few words as possible, what I understand 
to be the scripture doctrine of the atonement of Christ. 

As the death of Christ is generally allowed to be a propitia- 
tory sacrifice, if those who are concerned to understand the doc- 
trine of the atonement would consider attentively in what way, 
or oil what princ iple, the death of Christ made propitiation for 
sin, I think there could be but one opinion concerning the atone- 
ment. But, utterly overlooking this grand point, and resorting 
to metaphors and comparisons which have but few points of re- 
semblance to the great subject in question, embarrassment, con- 
fusion, and error have found their way into one of the plainest 
doctrines of the Bible. 

The advocates of what may be called particular atonement 
amuse and edify themselves by continually resorting to certain 
expressions and passages of scripture, such as that Christ died 
for his people , laid down his life for the sheep , &c. never con- 
sidering that they have no right to monopolize these expres- 
sions as supporting their scheme. If Christ tasted death for 
every man, he certainly did so for his people. If he were a 
propitiation for the sins of the whole world, he certainly was 
for the sins of his elect. If he laid down his life for all man- 
kind, he surely did so for his sheep. 

The metaphor of debt and credit has done infinite mischief in 
this business. They consider the elect as owing a debt to jus- 
tice, which Christ has paid ; and his payment is of course passed 
to their credit ; so that they then have a legal right to demand par- 


39 


don and justification ; and this demand is sometimes made in 
their prayers and religious exercises, in a manner so bold and 
daring, as to shock the humble and penitent Christian. Yet, af- 
ter all, they appear never to have considered how it is that 
the death of Christ makes propitiation for sin, or pays the debt 
they so much talk of ; and, if so, they are profoundly ignorant 
of the nature of the atonement. But if they do not understand 
its nature, how can they judge correctly of its extent ? 

The curse of the law of God is his displeasure, expressed in 
the punishment of transgression. But why is the law of God 
penal ? — What end is to be answered by the punishment of the 
transgressor ? It is not because God takes delight in the misery 
of his creatures, for its own sake. It is not to repair the breach 
of the law, for that is impossible : what is done cannot be un- 
done. It is not to reclaim the offender, for it does not do it. 
It is, in one word, to show God's hatred of sin , and, in the same 
degree, his love of holiness. This is indeed the object of pe- 
nalty under human governments : it is to show the displeasure of 
the supreme authority at transgression. 

The penalty of the divine law is the only mean of showing 
to intelligent creatures God’s hatred of sin. If the obedient and 
disobedient fared equally well under God’s' government, there 
could be no distinction made between sin and holiness. When 
a sinner is punished, all rational creatures, who see it, perceive 
how the Almighty Ruler regards transgressions, and they will 
fear to transgress : at the same time, they see how God honours 
his own law, by the terrible manifestation of his displeasure ; and 
they will be led to honour the same. 

When Christ endured the curse of the law, the same disco- 
very was made of God’s hatred of transgression — the same, of 
his regard for his own law : though, perhaps, in a still more 
striking form than when sinners are punished for their own sins. 
Christ, therefore, made propitiation for sin, by his death, by com- 
pletely answering thereby the great end of penalty, or the death 
of the sinner. 

This 1 understand to be the nature of the atonement or propiti- 
ation of Christ ; and it differs essentially from all notions of debt 
and credit, in the following particulars : — 


40 


1. The two cases are entirely different in their general na- 
ture, as, in strictness, the one is criminal, the other civil : the 
former involving the principles of a purely retributive justice, 
the latter a justice that is strictly commutative : there being no 
resemblance between the pardon of a criminal and the release of a 
debtor. 

2. The two cases are different in all their forms and circum- 
stances. The satisfaction to justice is a general principle ; the 
payment of a debt a partial and local act. 

3. As a criminal process always originates from, and is in fa- 
vour of, the public or state, the satisfaction it demands is also a 
public satisfaction ; except where private and particular injury 
is sustained, which justice will also remedy by private and par- 
ticular satisfaction : but a civil action of debt, for instance, is 
always in favour of one or more individuals, or individual bo- 
dies, and recovers a satisfaction to an individual, &c. 

4. A propitiatory satisfaction does never, from its own na- 
ture, give the criminal a legal right to demand his discharge ; 
since it neither obliterates his crime, nor, in any degree, lessens 
his guilt ; and though it vests that right in the propitiator, it impo- 
ses on him no obligation to exercise it, unless he has bound him- 
self so to do by promise. Whereas, the payment of a debt is 
but the answer of a private demand, which demand it cancels, 
and in return empowers the debtor to demand his discharge. 

I have pointed out some, but not all, of the differences be- 
tween the payment of a debt and a propitiatory satisfaction. 
And I believe any man will find himself puzzled to point out 
one exact feature of resemblance between them. 

If I might use the terms of law, an action from the whole uni- 
verse lies against every sinner : the essential rights of all beings 
demand his punishment, for transgressing the law of God. The 
Son of God undertakes to make propitiation for sin, to magnify 
the law, and make it honorable, and yet show mercy to the sin- 
ner. But here the objection comes forward with an importunate 
question: “For whom did Christ undertake to make satisfac- 
tion ? For whom did he make propitiation 1” This question shows 
that the querist has fixed in his mind the payment of a debt 


41 


which we have shown bears but a faint an d remote resemblance 
to the subject in hand. But this question admits, not only of one, 
but of various satisfactory answers. 

1. The nature of Christ’s propitiation for sin shows it to be # 
an unlimited general principle. In sustaining the curse of the 
law, he showed in the greatest possible degree God’s hatred of 
sin, and in the same degree magnified the law, and made it 
honourable. We are not to understand that the propitiation, or 
satisfaction, of justice must vary, and be greater or less accord- 
ing to the number to be saved. Yet this is clearly implied in 
the payment of a debt, and is certainly the idea of those who 
hold to particular atonement. They seem to imagine that all 
the sins of the elect, forming a certain amount, are estimated, 
and propitiation made for them. In this lies their error. They 
ought to know that God has not shown his hatred of sins by 
the death of Christ, either by number or amount, but, on the 
contrary, that he has shown an infinite abhorrence of all sin, and 
an infinitely high regard for the honour of his law. They cannot 
but perceive that as much as this would have been necessary to 
propitiate justice, had there been but one sinner to save, and cer- 
tainly no more is possible were all men to be saved. 

According to their own principles, before considered, if one 
sin were sufficient to involve not only one man, but a whole race 
of creatures in infinite guilt and endless perdition, they must al- 
low that, after Adam’s first sin, he alone could not have been 
saved, but by the whole propitiation which Christ has made. 

And, at any rate, it must be admitted, that had there been but one 
man, and had he committed but one sin, we have no means of 
perceiving how he could have obtained pardon and salvation, but 
through a full and complete propitiation for sin. 

We cannot, therefore, infer that Christ made propitiation for the 
elect only, from any limitation or deficiency in the atonement. 

The vicarious sufferings of Christ were, in all respects, the same 
as they would have been had he intended to die for the whole 
world : — the same his humiliation — his sufferings — his condescen- 
sion — his death. 

2. I think I have heard gentlemen who held to a particular 
4 * 


42 


atonement, acknowledge that there was merit or efficacy enough 
in Christ’s atonement to save not only this, but a thousand worlds. 
Though I thought the expression somewhat unguarded, yet indeed, 
* if a propitiation so full and perfect was made, in what way 
can any one contrive to limit it to a certain part of mankind ? 
The word of God makes no such limit, but informs us that he 
actually did make propitiation for the sins of the whole world ; 
that he had tasted death for every man ; that he died for all ; 
that in him should all nations be blessed, and that his gospel 
should be glad tidings to all people. 

I am fully aware that a reply is ready for all these passages, 
and a thousand more ; and I am also aware that religious disputes 
are now maintained, not by simple scripture authority, but by 
scripture filtrated through the conflicting opinions of great and 
learned critics, expositors, and casuists ; against whom a point- 
blank text of scripture is as a dart of straw thrown against Dover 
clifts. The shot is fair, but the rock does not fall. Tell a man 
what the Bible says against his scheme, and he will laugh at you ; 
or, if he choose to dispute, he will, with a smile at your igno- 
rance, reply, “ I know very well that those are the words of 
scripture, but have you not read how Dr. Dogmaticus and father 
Fungus have explained it ; and even Bishop Bigbelly is of the 
same opinion.” You may lay your finger on your lip and retire, 
for you are beat ; and may say with Job, on a different occasion, 
“ If I speak I shall be swallowed up !” 

This may be styled rant, and if it be even so, I deem it the 
only answer that is due to the bold and barefaced evasion of the 
plain and simple declarations of sacred writ. But taking away 
the fictitious, and substituting real names, and it expresses nothing 
but the imperishable truth. But to return — 

3. The gospel, in its own nature and genuine spirit, clearly 
implies a propitiation for all mankind, and that through Christ 
the door of mercy is set open for all. The angels sent to an- 
nounce the Saviour’s birth to the shepherds understood it thus : 
“ Behold I bring you glad tidings of great joy which shall be to 
you and all people ,” &c. That the invitation is made general, 
merely because the elect of Christ are unknown to those who 
preach the gospel, is a poor and pitiful shift, and renders the pro- 


43 


clamation liable to the charge of dishonesty, and the invitation, 
of insincerity. Should I make a dinner for but two persons, and 
then send out pressing invitations to ten ; nay, and should threaten 
the whole with my utmost displeasure if they did not come ; in 
what light would my conduct be viewed by those who knew the 
whole of the fact 1 How surprised would the two be when they 
come to see there was provision only for them ? And as to the 
eight, who were invited with urgency and threatening, when 
they come to learn that a dinner was only made for two, what 
might they not justly say ? They might, and would say, the invi- 
tation was false and abusive ; and, had we accepted, nothing 
was prepared for us. Far different from this was the wedding 
feast of the king’s son. 

But the all-seeing God knows who his people are, yet he does 
invite all to come. “Look unto me all ye ends of the earth, 
and be ye saved, saith the Lord.” In fine, (for to dwell on this 
point seems like urging a self-evident proposition,) all the invi- 
tations of the gospel are unqualified and universal ; and those 
who finally reject them, shall hereafter know that they rejected 
a sincere invitation to a full and infinitely rich provision. Nothing 
can set this point in a clearer light than our Saviour’s own para- 
ble of the marriage of the king’s son. The kingdom of heaven is 
likened unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his son ; 
and sent forth to call those that were bidden to the wedding ; 
and they would not come. And again, he sent forth other servants, 
saying, Tell them which are bidden, behold, I have prepared my 
dinner ; my oxen, and my failings are killed, and all things are 
ready ; come unto the marriage. But they made light of it, and 
went their ways. Matt. xxii. 2 — 5. 

Can a man who reads this parable doubt of the fulness of the 
gospel provision for all men — of the sincerity of the invitation 
to all men — of the voluntariness of its rejection, and, of course, 
of the ability to have accepted ? After reading this, can any one 
ask for whom Christ made propitiation ? If there should be such, 
ready to hale , I can only answer him by saying, 5 t “/or the sins of 
the whole world;” and ‘leave him to furbish up his powers of 
evasion. 

4. Infinitely more noble, more grand, more benevolent, does 


44 


the gospel plan appear, on the ground of a general atonement. 
If a province in the dominions of some monarch should rebel, 
and the monarch should, on certain terms, publish an act of grace 
to a certain portion of the people, telling them if they would 
lay down their arms, by such a day, they should obtain pardon 
and be restored to favour, while all the rest were doomed to in- 
evitable destruction : — would this look as magnanimous, as great, 
as worthy of a mighty potentate, as though the act of grace ex- 
tended to all ? How much more splendid and magnificent would 
the proclamation run, did it state that the great sovereign had 
found out a ransom for the whole, provided they would accept 
his overtures, and bow to his sceptre. 

There is reason to adore God that this is the language of the 
gospel : “ Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to 
every creature ; he that believeth and is baptized shall be sav- 
ed.” But this language is not true, if an atonement is made for 
but a part. And this point, I think, has not been sufficiently 
brought into view. It cannot be said to one for whom no pro- 
pitiation is made, “ If you believe in Christ you shall be saved.” 
It would be the meanest and basest of all quibbles, in the most 
sacred and awful of all concerns. It would, in fact, be nothing 
less than a most atrocious falsehood. Were I in a ship at sea, 
which was rapidly sinking, and the boat was already so filled 
as not to be able to hold another person, would it be correct — 
would it be true or decorous, should some one say to me, “ Come, 
if you will get into the boat you may go to an island, not far off, 
and be saved?” — And to this I will add, especially, if I were 
chained fast in the hold of that vessel, and the boat already com- 
pletely filled, how would it sound in my ears, should some one 
with great earnestness say to me, Come, go into the boat — there 
is an island near, and you may escape ? There would be false- 
hood upon falsehood, and insult upon insult. This proposition 
would import the following things: I. The boat will hold you. 
2. You have permission to enter it ; and, 3. You are ab 3 to 
enter it. 

Whoever says to a sinner, “ If you will believe in Christ you 
shall be saved,” says to him the following things : 1st. Christ 
has atoned for your sins. 2d. He is willing to save you; and, 3d» 


45 


You are able to believe in him. Christ himself intended all those 
four things when he said to the Jews, “ Ye will not come unto 
me that ye might have life.” For surely, if he had not died for 
them, to what purpose could he say they were unwilling to come 
to him as a Saviour. And if there were a deeper impediment 
than want of will, why should he ascribe their not coming to the 
want of will ? 

If there be a sinner for whom no atonement is made, that sin- 
ner could not be saved, even should he believe in Christ : more- 
over, if their notion of appropriating faith be true, which is, tha* 
every Christian must believe that* Christ died in a particular man- 
ner for him, then, whoever exhorts that sinner to believe in Christ, 
exhorts him to believe a lie. Wherefore, these triangular preach- 
ers must be cautious to whom they direct their exhortations. 
Nor will it always avail them, though they keep close to their 
lines and angle. 

5. The idea usually entertained of the sin of unbelief, and 
which none insist upon more than these preachers, corroborates 
the doctrine of general atonement. They generally teach that 
saving faith consists in the Christian’s believing that Christ died 
for him. But how can a man believe that Christ died for him, 
when he, in fact did not die for him ; and when no propitiation 
is made for his sins ? Which side of the dilemma will they en- 
counter ? Will they allow that Christ made propitiation for all 
men, and thereby ground a charge of unbelief against those that 
do not embrace the Saviour ; or will they adhere to their triangle, 
and at once exonerate the whole non-elect world from the sin of 
unbelief? 

And there are innumerable declarations and facts, dispersed 
through all parts of the holy scriptures, which go to establish the 
doctrine of a general propitiation. “ Behold,” saith the apostle 
John, “ the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world,” 
alluding probably to the words of Isaiah, who said of the Messiah, 
that he should make an end of sin , and bring in everlasting 
righteousness. No expression can more fully convey the idea 
of full and universal propitiation. And there is but one way to 
avoid this construction, which is, by mending up the passage by 
the help of another word. The word Kosmos , which, in the Greek 


46 


is used for world, out of eleven different meanings, furnishes no 
one which requires or admits an epithet before it : and I have 
as good a right to put before the word European, or American, 
ancient or modern, as any man has to put the word elect or re- 
deemed. I believe it is nowhere in the Scriptures used to signify 
the church of Christ : on the contrary, it is generally used to mean 
the world in its most literal sense, or the people, indefinitely, who 
inhabit it. 

The high priest of the Jews, on the trial of our Saviour, de- 
clared that it was necessary that one should die for the people. 
“ This he spake,” saith the evangelist John, “ not of himself but 
being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die 
for that nation.” — By what spirit did he prophesy ? — By the spi- 
rit of God. — Were the Jewish nation believers ? — Did they not 
as a nation reject the Redeemer ? — Have they not as a nation 
been unbelievers ever since ? And yet a man prophesied by the 
inspiration of the Holy Ghost, that Christ should die for that na- 
tion. This is surely out of the triangle. 

But to conclude this number : there is no point in the whole 
gospel plan, more abundantly expressed or strongly implied, than 
that Christ, as far as propitiation or atonement is concerned, died 
for all men — offered up himself a ransom for all — tasted death 
for every man, and made propitiation for the sins of the whole 
world. Therefore, said the Apostle to the Hebrews, “ How shall 
we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” Assuring them, with 
all the force of reasoning and of eloquence, that salvation was 
brought within their reach ; and virtually enforcing the accusa- 
tion laid by Christ himself, in another place, against the Scribes 
and Pharisees, of wilfully refusing to enter into the kingdom of 
heaven themselves — nay, and of preventing others that would 
enter from going in. 

Away with this contracted, limited, starved, unscriptural no- 
tion of the atonement : — it is defacing the corner stone of the 
Christian fabric — cutting it down to a pebble, on which the glo- 
rious superstructure cannot rest, but totters to its foundation. 

It ought to be the highest glory of every gospel minister to 
preach “ Christ the Saviour of all men, but especially of them that 
believe to assure mankind that the door of mercy is set open 


47 


before them, from which nothing can exclude them but their 
refusal to enter : — that God is long suffering, not whiling that 
any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. The 
gospel, deprived of these aud similar topics, is defaced — its beau- 
ties tarnished — its riches wasted — its influence destroyed. “ It is 
another gospel.” 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. IX. 

These gentlemen, who, to save circumlocution, may, per- 
haps, be stiled Trigonoi, which I think they w r ould prefer to 
Antimoralinabilities, beside the true and genuine wielding of the 
sword of the spirit, have two ways of defending their cause. 
One is, by casting over their whole scheme the lustre and glory 
of great names and authorities, such as Calvin, Turretin, Picket, 
Ridgely, Owen, Marshall, and the like ; shrouding under this 
sort of panoply, more notions which those men never thought 
of, than there were ever toads seen under the sweep of a 
rainbow after a shower. The other is, by casting an invincible 
odium upon their adversaries ; accusing them of holding to the 
most strange, dangerous, and even blasphemous sentiments : 
as for example, that God is the author of sin ; that people must 
be willing to be damned, in order to be saved ; that all sin con- 
sists in selfishness. Beside this, they have a most incurable pre- 
judice against certain terms, which are considered to be very 
favourite words with some ; for instance, such terms as disinte- 
restedness, benevolence, virtue, morality, and the like. 

A paragraph or two on each of these particulars, I think will 
be abundant to remove the mist from the eyes of most people. 
I say mist ; for the filling of people’s minds with causeless ter- 
rors, with these frightful words, reminds me of the mode of de- 
fence used by a certain fish, which I think is called a squid ; 
who, when he is pursued, throws back into the eyes of his pur- 


48 

suer a biack cloudy water, whereby he loses track, and the 
squid escapes. 

I never, in my life, heard a person say that he thought God 
was the author of sin ; though, I have personally known Hopkins, 
and many of his most distinguished followers. That God is 
somehow or other concerned in the existence of sin, is an infer- 
ence, however, drawn from premises which few will deny. 
The illustrious assembly of protestant divides who formed the 
Augsburg confession of faith, with Luther and Melancton at 
their head, say, in that confession, that Satan was the author of 
sin . But, it is replied, Satan was once an angel of light, and if 
his first sin were the first sin ever committed in God’s kingdom, 
then before his first sin, there was nothing sinful. Then, either 
the first sin had no cause, or must have been caused or com- 
mitted by a holy being. “ But this is going too far back — it is 
presumptuous.” Ah ! quite too far back for these modest, hum - 
ble y reasoners. They will do well to observe it goes no fur- 
ther back than intuitive demonstration paves the way. I will 
leave it for them to take which part of the dilemma they 
choose, and draw their own consequences. 

Some people are accused of too great boldness in their rea- 
sonings. Let us see who is the most bold and irreverent. Eve- 
ry one believes that God existed from eternity, before sin 
took place in his kingdom. Would it not be very bold and im- 
pious to say that sin commenced contrary to his expectation ? 
Would it not be blasphemous to say that He could not have 
prevented the beginning of sin ? Would it not be an impeach- 
ment of all his perfections, to entertain a belief that he could 
even be indifferent concerning an event which was to change the 
face of his whole kingdom, to influence the condition of all crea- 
tures to eternity, and to lead the way to the grandest event 
which ever engaged the attention of creatures ? 

What will these modest and humble reasoners say of the in- 
carnation, death, resurrection, reign, and glory of the Son of 
God, the second person in the ever blessed Trinity ? Were 
these grand events merely remedial and preventive, in refer- 
ence to an event no ways connected with the divine purposes ? 
Would it not be extravagant — would it be unscrip tural to say 


49 


that the incarnation, and work of Christ, were regarded as ulti- 
mate ends, even in the creation and general providence of God, 
since through that work God is manifested to his creatures, 
and his moral kingdom brought into a closer union with him ? 
Why, then, is Christ called the beginning of the creation of 
God, the first born of every creature 1 

God works all things after the counsel of his own will ; yet, 
according to these modest teachers, who never pry into any 
thing beyond their depth, the whole plan of providence and re- 
demption has been diverted, nay, forced into a certain channel, 
to obviate the effects of an event in which the agency of God 
had no concern. According to this doctrine, that very event, 
in which the divine agency had no concern, has been the 
means of bringing about more good than any event in which 
the divine agency ever was concerned. 

If God had no way to produce, influence, and control events, 
but such as creatures use, we then might be justly alarmed at 
the idea of any divine agency, either direct or indirect, con- 
cerned in the existence of evil. Herein is the error of man- 
kind ; they measure the methods and motives of the divine 
conduct by their own. “ Thou thoughtest that I was alto- 
gether such an one as thyself, but I will reprove thee quickly.” 

These are some of the reasonings usually resorted to by 
those who are accused of holding that God is the author of sin. 
For myself, I can truly say, I ever disliked the expression, and 
I can say as much for many who are accused of holding to the 
doctrine. How far, and in what way, the divine agency was 
concerned in the existence of evil, after submitting the forego- 
ing remarks, I leave every one to judge for himself. Their 
argument may be divided into two parts, which, lest it may be 
misunderstood, I shall repeat. 

1. They contend, that the first sin must either have had no 
cause, or a holy cause. Quis protest negare ? 

2. They say that the consequences of sin have been far too 
great, and too peculiar, to admit of the supposition of indiffer- 
ence, or inefficiency concerning its origin, in a being of infinite 
power, wisdom, and goodness, who foresaw it. And it must 
be admitted, that the work of creation itself is considered in the 

5 


50 


scriptures as subordinate, and leading to the work of redemp- 
tion; since the great Redeemer is called the beginning of the 
creation of God, the first born of every creature. He was ap- 
pointed heir of all things ; — the whole universe was given him 
as an inheritance, even before it was created. Yet, without sin 
there could have been neither redemption, Redeemer, nor Imman- 
uel. Their notion, if they have any, seems to subject us to the 
base and degrading idea, that the entire and eternal plan of God’s 
kingdom and government turned upon an event concerning which 
he had neither will, agency, nor influence. 

The clamour that is raised against certain people, who arc 
said to hold that a sinner must be willing to be damned in or- 
der to be saved, is almost too idle and ridiculous to merit a mo- 
ment’s attention ; yet, like the discharge of the squid, it blinds 
people’s eyes, and scatters a great deal of fog and darkness. It 
is even amusing to hear them talk on the subject. “ What, 
must I be willing to live with devils in fire and brimstone to all 
eternity, in order to be saved ? Impossible ! O, what horrible sen- 
timents ! These people must be monsters in human shape,” &c. 

The people accused of this most extraordinary error, as far as 
I have known their opinions, hold no more, on this article, than 
all Christians, and even the more enlightened heathen admit, to- 
gether with Jews and Mahometans. They hold, that every ra- 
tional creature in heaven , earth , and hell , ought to feel perfect sub- 
mission to the will of God. Now, if this be an error, let it be 
made to appear such. If it be true and correct, let these tend er- 
hearted clamourers avoid the consequences which necessarily 
result from it, if they can. While they hold unqualified submis- 
sion to the divine will the duty of all rational creatures, they al- 
so believe that a certain degree of that submission, or resigna- 
tion, belongs to the Christian character. And will any one deny 
it? The Christian, they say, sees that his damnation would be 
ju3t, and is ready to exclaim with Job, “ Though he slay me, yet 
will I trust in him.” As to any one’s being willing to be an ene- 
my to God to all eternity, it is out of the question ; for damna- 
tion, in strictness, implies the penalty of the law, and not the 
transgression of it. It is probable that every Christian is fully 
aware that it is not the will of God that his people should be 


51 


damned ; in feeling resignation to his will, therefore, which is 
one evidence of their adoption, it is not implied that they feel 
willing to be damned. 

If it be right that a wicked man should be damned, I would 
ask these good people, whether they think that a wicked man 
ought to be willing that God should do right ? I fear they will 
detect themselves of as huge an error as they charge upon 
others ; for, I strongly conj ecture, they will not dare to say 
that even a wicked man does right to continue to be a rebel 
against God. 

There is nothing on this subject worthy of notice ; nothing 
that a man of sense and candour would waste a moment about ; 
but, truly, the outcry that has been raised concerning this, 
evinces a spirit the most base, carping, and unfair. It is, in- 
deed, not long since it was declared in a public lecture, before 
a great audience in this city, that a certain sect of people held , 
that all virtue consisted in being willing to be damned. This was 
said, if I recollect right, by the celebrated Dr. M’Fog, and is 
what may be called, in vulgar terms, a thumper. For no such 
thing is believed or asserted by any one. Whether a pnblic 
teacher, who thus wantonly commits himself to falsehood for the 
sake of exciting popular odium, does thereby add any thing to 
the score of his faith or good works, I shall not determine. 

These companions for selfishness, when they hear it asserted 
that all sin consists in selfishness, are, no doubt, much displeased. 
This opinion, though it may be maintained by some, in their 
metaphysical disquisitions, is peculiar to no class or denomina- 
tion of people ; therefore, were it never so erroneous, is not 
to be charged upon any scheme of theology. But wherein con- 
sists its odious enormity — or in what respect is it incorrect ? 

By selfishness, I mean that disposition in the mind of man 
which sets up the interest, honor, gratification, or happiness of 
himself above any other object. Now, I ask, what sin is hu- 
man nature charged with, which may not easily, and directly be 
traced to that source ? Is a man covetous ? What does the in- 
crease of wealth regard but self aggrandizement and gratifica- 
tion ? Who desires what is not his own but for that end \ Whi- 
ther does ambition tend ? What is the source and motive of envy, 


52 


hatred, and revenge ? The man of pleasure, what does he aim at ? 
What gives rise to intrigue — perjury — treason — slander? What 
impels the thief — the robber — the assassin — the conqueror ? 

Again, I ask, whence is the reluctance of men to obey the 
law of God ? It is because they find no gratification, no pleasure 
in the duties which it requires ; it restrains their pleasures, and 
forbids the indulgence of their passions ; therefore, they hate 
it. For the same reason they hate God himself, and prefer 
their own pleasure and gratification to his honour and glory. 

Hence it is, that selfish men are often in danger of mistaking 
a kind of natural gratitude which they feel towards God, when 
he does them good, and prospers their enterprises, for a true and 
holy love to God ; whereas, it is but simply the approbation and 
enjoyment of their own interest, as flowing from his providence. 
Christ himself teaches, that to love those that love us is no very 
exalted excellence, since he assures us, even sinners love sin- 
ners, and can feel very well disposed to requite a kindness. 
There is, indeed, no doubt, a great deal of supposed love to God 
and to Christ, which arises from the very lowest, and most un- 
mingled selfishness. A man, by some means, imbibes a per- 
suasion that God loves him, has done him much good, and is going 
to do him much more ; nay, he goes further, and persuades 
himself that Christ died for him, and will save him. This is 
enough to excite his love and gratitude, and he talks how ardent- 
ly he loves God, and how much devoted he is to the Saviour. 
This is but a concise view of the religion of these selfish teachers. 
They, in fact, have the boldness to assert, that the highest mo- 
tive a sinner has to love God and Christ, is because he has re- 
ceived great favours from them, and expects still greater. They 
say, that abstract views of the excellency of God’s character are 
too remote, too exalted, too far removed from human conception, 
to be the proper foundation of love and admiration ; that, what- 
ever they may be to higher orders of creatures, they are far 
too pure, exalted, and refined, to operate as motives on men. 

O wretched religion ! Self-deceived pretenders to godliness ! 
0 selfishness in perfection — base — miserable, and blind ! A man 
may have all this religion, may be full of it, and full of zeal to 
promote it, and yet have none of the spirit of Christ Is there 


/ 


53 


then no such thing as a divine character? Has Jesus Christ 
no character which can be apprehended, and supremely loved, 
unmingled with one consideration of self? Whence has arisen all 
this noise about greatness, amiableness, excellency of character, 
even in men ; which fills all books, and which has been the high- 
est object of admiration, panegyric, and delight, to men in all 
ages ? 

“ Ah ! it is all nothing : — all too remote and abstract to hit 
human faculties. I can love nothing hut what does me good; I 
must perceive its connexion with my interest, or I cannot feel 
any regard for it.” This is selfish language ; and it is sordid 
enough. 

The character of God is sufficiently manifested to his ration- 
al creatures to command supreme and universal love and ado- 
ration. There is no character among the heroes and patriots 
of history, so fully displayed — so prominently evident — so easily 
and clearly apprehensible. This infinitely glorious character is 
collected from what God has revealed of himself — his nature and 
attributes — his providence and grace, in his works, and in his 
word. 

A man comes and tells me, that a neighbour of his has done 
him a very great kindness ; has paid for him a sum of money, 
and rescued him from prosecution and from prison ; what if I 
should say to him, in reply, he has, indeed, been very kind, and 
laid you under peculiar obligations. But I know that man well ; 
in what he has done for you, he has evinced the character he 
universally possesses. He has done thousands of such acts in 
the course of his life, and thousands of people have shared in 
his beneficence. The whole of his fortune is devoted to the 
benefit of mankind ; and the various resources of his mind are 
directed and exhausted in promoting all sort3 of improvements ; 
in founding hospitals, seminaries, and liberal and charitable in- 
stitutions. He has made great improvements in the agriculture 
of his whole neighbourhood ; and has done more to encourage 
the arts and sciences, and to promote human happiness, than 
any man of his time. But hold, says the man, that is all well 
enough, but it is nothing to me. I feel no interest in these ab- 
stract views of character. The good he may have done to 
5 * 


54 


thousands, and all his great and benevolent plans, do not strike 
my feelings at all. Let them be extolled by those who were, 
or will be, interested in, and benefitted by them. This man has 
paid a hundred dollars for me , and, therefore , I love him . It can- 
not be supposed that I can be affected by the good he has done 
to others ; and, above all, that I can be so abstract and meta- 
physical as to run back to consider his character and disposi- 
tion, prior to the consideration of his actions, and which lie at 
the bottom of his conduct. That would be all nonsense, or, at 
best, far too refined for me. I like the man because he has done 
me good ; he has promoted my interest, and, therefore, I can feel 
great regard for him. 

What ought I to think of such a man ? — I should, I confess, 
consider him as a blind, unfeeling, selfish wretch, on whom the 
great and liberal man had wasted his bounty, were it not that 
“ Mercy is twice blest, 

In him who gives it, and in him who takes.” 

So that one of the blessings will, at least, redound to the giver, 
however the other may affect the receiver. 

Room is furnished for the rise and spread of an unlimited king- 
dom, through interminable space and eternal duration, in which 
the glorious God and Father of all has, from ancient days, pour- 
ed forth emanations of his infinite goodness. In this rising and 
spreading kingdom, adorned with magnificence answerable to the 
power and wisdom of the divine architect, are placed innumera- 
ble orders of creatures. Beginning with inactive, inorganic mat- 
ter, thence rising to the vegetable, then to the sensitive and animal 
kingdoms ; and still higher to creatures of a mixed nature, com- 
posed of body and mind, and endowed with sensation and reflec- 
tion ; and, last of all, for here our perceptions and means of know- 
ledge terminate, to pure spirits, with whose mode of existence and 
general habits we are still unacquainted. Through these immense 
departments of being, the great Author has manifested one cha- 
racter of power, wisdom, design, justice, and benevolence. Intel- 
ligence begins with man, and ascends to higher degrees of excel- 
lence in angels. But as, in our present state, we do not need the 
information, so the infinitely wise Teacher has not informed us 
concerning the various natures, numbers, orders, residences, and 


55 


powers, of superior creatures. Yet enough is communicated to 
assure us that, in all those respects, they are answerable to the 
grandeur of the kingdom in which they live, and of the God and 
Father whom they adore. 

In ways inconceivably glorious and wonderful, God is making 
himself known to this great family : and as all rational creatures 
are immortal, there is full reason to believe these discoveries 
will always continue and increase; while to contemplate, ad- 
mire, and adore, will be the ceaseless employment of holy in- 
telligences, through a happy eternity. 

Before the great family, the almighty Father has exhibited a 
character marked with the strongest lines — the most distinguish- 
ed and illustrious traits. Nor is there a rational creature, whose 
faculties are mature according to the constitution of his nature, 
who cannot perceive it. Every thing, from the great frame of 
nature to the minutest insect, declares his power and wisdom : 
nor less do they declare his infinite benevolence. But the work 
of redemption more especially brings into light, and fully illus- 
trates, his moral perfections. Nor is it likely that this work is 
concealed from any of his intelligent creatures : nor is it viewed 
with less interest, delight, or astonishment, by those pure intel- 
ligences who never fell, than it is or will by those for whom 
the benefits of redemption are immediately designed ; while, on 
the contrary, the redeemed will rejoice with equal fervour in be- 
holding divine goodness, like a mighty river, flowing from the 
throne of God, and dispensing itself abroad in immortal streams, 
to enrich, adorn, and glorify the whole intelligent system. 

Can it be believod that the base and loathsome doctrine of 
selfishness is violently intruded, by these teachers, even into 
this theme ? Yes : they will tell you that every Christian, yea, 
every saint, will be so completely occupied with the high import- 
ance of his own happiness, that he will not be able to perceive 
any stronger motive of love to God, than because God has done 
good to him ; and that this, of course, will be the rule of his at- 
tachment to all beings. May God dispel the clouds that hang 
around them, and enlarge the ken of their mental vision : may 
he break up this frozen winter of selfishnes in their souls, and 
warm them with holy love. 


56 


Religion does not render a man indifferent to happiness, but it 
shows him his own comparative nothingness and insignificance in 
the great kingdom of Jehovah ; and all the acts of divine goodness 
and mercy to him, and to the whole human race ; all the blessings 
which all creatures receive from God, show him clearly that 
these streams of goodness proceed from one boundless, exhaust- 
less ocean. And who that comes in sight of the ocean, in which 
islands and continents are all embosomed, will not be ready to 
forget streams and rivers, which all proceed from thence and re- 
turn thither? 

But, the shameless and strenuous vindication of selfishness, so 
prominent in the conversation, preaching, and, I am sorry to add, 
in the conduct of these teachers, for they are all of a piece — the 
virulence with which they attack all idea of disinterestedness, 
even in the great concerns of religion, leaves room to fear that 
the pursuit of self-interest is their supreme object. Perhaps, in- 
deed, they will own the charge, and feel willing to abide the con- 
sequences. If so, I pray God to show them that he has a cha- 
racter which challenges their supreme regard ; and that he would 
teach them to approve and love every thing according to its real 
value, whether it directly tends to promote their private interest 
or not. This is what I call disinterested benevolence , and is fully 
implied in the great' precept, “ Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
God with all thine heart, and thy neighbour as thyself.” 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. X. 

I trust it will be admitted that the reformation of the church 
is by no means completely accomplished. I am sorry to be com- 
pelled to add, that this “ consummation, so devoutly to be wish- 
ed,” is kept back and delayed, in part, by the church itself ; or, 
more correctly speaking, by individuals in its bosom, who having 
acquired some influence, use that influence to its utmost extent, 


57 


not merely in retarding the vessel, so long “ afflicted and tossed 
with tempests, 1 ’ on her voyage, but by striving to lay her course 
backward, and to carry her again towards the dark and stormy 
coast she left ages ago. Of this I have given some intimations 
in the preceding numbers. It shall be the business of the present 
number to assign my reasons for this assertion. Whether I shall 
substantiate it, I leave the reader to judge ; and I appeal to an 
enlightened public, who can have no interest in wishing to be 
deceived by the “ cunning craftiness of man .” 

I appeal to the city, nay, to the consciences of the men with 
whose motives I have made so free, and shall still make more 
free, and whose doctrines I oppose. For conscience does not al- 
ways go hand in hand with the clamours of contempt nor always 
sanction the soft flattery of parasites, or the loud hosannas of the 
multitude. It sometimes has happened that while a man deco- 
rates his brow with the dignified smile of self-approbation, stern 
conscience goads his heart, and points him to an awful and impar- 
tial tribunal. 

From the seventh to the fifteenth century, an age of darkness 
covered the remnant of the civilized nations of the earth, the 
church was in the wilderness, and spiritual Babylon maintained 
her gloomy reign, in a manner, undisturbed. Yet Christ was not 
without a witness, and there is reason to believe that many of his 
jewels will be gathered from that period, and from those places 
where “ darkness covered the earth, and gross darkness the 
people.” In the valleys of Piedmont the voice of the gospel was 
at times heard ; and the name of Raymond holds a dreadful im- 
mortality, from the atrocity of his crimes, and his cruelties inflict- 
ed on the followers of Christ. 

The seeds of the reformation were sown previous to the days 
of Luther. Even from the times of the crusades a series of re- 
markable events began to loosen the fetters which bound the 
minds of men, and gradually to weaken the foundations of the 
papal edifice, founded in ignorance and superstition, and consoli- 
dated by ambition. It is a common remark, that one great man 
seldom appears alone. Luther, the greatest of Christian heroes 
since the apostolic age, was surrounded and aided by a constella- 
tion, for such I may call them, of men eminently fitted by Provi- 


58 


denee for the great work they were destined to accomplish. And 
while the flame broke out, and was rapidly spreading, in Ger- 
many, by a happy coincidence, a commotion was raised in Eng- 
land, though from causes apparently far less commendable, which 
was not composed but by the separation of that nation from the 
see of Rome. 

The character and progress of the reformation derived many 
of its leading traits from the character and temper of the nations 
over which its happy influence prevailed. The thrones of Eu- 
rope were, at that august moment, filled with greater monarchs 
than, all things considered*, ever occupied them at any other pe- 
riod. In England, the eighth and greatest of the Henrys ; in 
Germany and Spain, Charles the fifth ; in France, Francis the 
First ; and in Turkey, Solyman the Magnificent ; while on the 
Papal throne sat Leo the Tenth, the most powerful and accom- 
plished of all the popes, the Augustus of spiritual Rome, if that 
deserves to be called spiritual which was, in fact, more carnal, 
sensual, and develish than the Rome of Augustus Caesar. To 
the ambitious views and great resources of these monarchs, ex- 
traordinary as it may seem, was apparently owing the progress 
and establishment of the reformation. By these means, each 
one, fully occupied with his own projects and hopes of aggran- 
dizement, was, in a manner, withdrawn from any hostile inter- 
ference, till the work of God was accomplished by his own im- 
mediate instruments. 

God, who is able to cause that a nation shall be born in a day, 
nevertheless usually accomplishes his great purposes gradually, 
and by the use of means. The gospel kingdom at first was 
ushered in by small and slow degrees. It was not to be ex- 
pected, that the Reformation would either be complete and en- 
tire, or universal. Yet the wisdom of God was manifested in 
selecting Great Britain, a literary people, whose naval power 
was to give her a ready intercourse with all the globe ; and 
Germany, a nation of a character peculiarly decided, persever- 
ing, grave, and self-consistent. 

To draw the line of demarcation between the first reformers 
and the catholics, with any degree of exactness, would be diffi- 
cult ; perhaps the attempt would be hazardous. In general, the 
grand pillars of popery were torn away, the enormous load of 


59 


useless rites and ceremonies thrown off, the superstitions, cor- 
ruptions, and abominable vices of their ecclesiastical polity re- 
jected. But it was the infelicity of the first reformers, as it has 
been of their successors, that they differed and contended. Me- 
lancthon differed from Luther ; Calvin from both ; Carolstadt 
from all ; and Erasmus, if he can be called a reformer, agreed 
with none of them, though he approved of many things they did. 
Combinations, however, and establishments soon took place ; 
the Lutherans formed one, the Genevese another, the English 
a third, and the Scotch a fourth. 

Some of these establishments rejected Episcopacy and a litur- 
gy, while others retained both. I shall avoid either discussions 
or opinions on these points, relative to the exterior of the Chris- 
tian fabric. I think them not essentials of religion, and if pur- 
sued with a temper and spirit conformable to their professed in- 
tention, I hope those who may even err in these respects will 
nevertheless be accepted of God. 

The grand pillars of the papal throne, and the enormous abuses 
running down through every grade of that most corrupt of all 
hierarchies, were visible and tangible to the reformers ; they 
therefore united, at once, in their demolition and removal. But 
these were not the only objects which required the attention of 
the reformers. Errors in doctrine — errors which, like roots, 
had ramified into thousands of branches, spread wide, and crept 
far and deep, beneath a soil apparantly well cultivated, were 
still to be discovered and eradicated. In this work, the first 
grand reformers made less progress than in some other parts of 
their vast enterprise. The visible church had long been an 
apostate church, and at whatever period the completion of that 
apostacy may be fixed, the commencement of her decline may 
be traced to times still more remote. 

The days of the celebrated Greek and Latin fathers were fruit- 
ful of errors, in doctrine and discipline, of stupendous growth ; 
of which, if they could be estimated by weight or measure, 
enough might be selected from the flights and plunges of Origen 
alone to crush an elephant to the earth. The oriental philoso- 
phy had already mingled itself with, and claimed the sanction of, 
the doctrine of Christ. The belief that good and evil were self- 
existent and co-eternal, had swept off many into the deceitful 


60 


eddies of heathenism. And when Constantine ascended the 
throne, the Arian heresy threatened the virtual extinction of 
the Christian church. Hence the remark of Turretin, that “ the 
fathers are useful to us as witnesses of fact , but not as judges 
of truth f was, doubtless, correct. 

In the dark ages, the follies and superstitions peculiar to the 
respective nations had more or less entrenched themselves 
within the precincts of Christian doctrine. Astrology, with all 
its lumber of omens, dreams, influences, conceits, and supersti- 
tions, formed a huge portion of the piety and devotion of thou- 
sands ; and logic, a wretched jargon of squibbles, sophisms, and 
riddles, supported by squadrons of anyalytics and dialytics, fed 
their understandings with wind. 

To crown the whole, the philosophy and morality of Plato 
and Aristotle, though not understood, were lugged in and incor- 
porated with their religion, and formed some of the main pillars 
of their faith. Hence arose realists and nominalists , together 
with the wise and profound doctrines of substantial form: con- 
cerning which, hosts of great men disputed for ages, with all the 
learning and subtlety the world could furnish, and with all the 
spleen, slander, and malevolence which priests, monks, bishops, 
and cardinals, could feel or inspire. 

When the superstructure of Popery was torn down aud destroy- 
ed, there still remained a great and vastly important reformation 
to be made in the opinions of men, which is still but partially ac- 
complished. This change, though not related to objects vitally 
important to salvation, yet very materially affects many impor- 
tant doctrines of revelation, and many points of practical religion. 
Habits of incorrect thinking and false reasoning, sanctioned for 
ages by great names and whole nations, cannot be suddenly 
destroyed and done away. Neither are men like Luther and his 
coadjutors the men eventually to accomplish this work : it re- 
quires men of equal talents, boldness, and decision of character, 
but of a very different, temperament of mind and turn of thinking. 

Among the things left to be accomplished, after the reforma- 
tion, and, doubtless, preparatory to another and far greater refor- 
mation still to come, I shall mention but three or four ; 

1. That the sights of man should be fully understood and es- 
tablished. I am grateful to a good Providence, which has place 


61 


me in a country where they are better understood and more 
fully established , than in any other country. Of all these rights, 
I shall, at this time, only speak of those of a religious nature, 
as they are the most sacred and important, and lie properly 
within the scope of this subject. Religious rights, involving the 
duty a man owes immediately to God, are by far the most neces- 
sary to be maintained and tolerated, while at the same time 
there is the least provocation to restrain them. But tyrants 
early learned the art of making religion an engine of state poli- 
cy, or, in other words, of ambition ; and thence sprung the op- 
pressive doctrine of intoleralion. 

Nothing can be more surprising than that the reformers, whose 
first theme was the tyranny and usurpation of Rome, who bad 
as yet but partially burst their chains, and were still in some 
places menaced with racks and flames, should, notwithstanding, 
be unable to perceive that religious freedom is the sacred and 
inviolable right of every man. Yet nothing is more certain than 
that they did not perceive it ; but adopted many of the perse- 
cuting maxims of the former persecutors. Even the great Gal- 
vin, after whose name so many deem it an honour to be called, 
had not been taught by the smait of persecution to abhor the 
persecutor; neither had the tyrannical intolerance of Rome 
awakened in him the generous and liberal spirit of toleration. 

I surely will not reject the truth, because Calvin held to it, but, 
at the S3ine time, I confess, that a persecuting protestant, other 
things out of the question, stands lower on the list of persecutors, 
in my estimation, than any other ; because they ought to know 
better ; and, indeed, we read in such actions, rather the language 
of the heart than of the understanding and conscience. We 
can very easily apologise for them, and say it was the fault of 
the times ; but it was no dictate of the spirit of Christ. 

Since the reformation, the light of truth has shone, and the 
principles of religious toleration have, perhaps, made some pro- 
gress in every part of Christendom, not even excepting Spain 
and Portugal. But, in our own happy country, they seem to 
have acquired their full maturity. While it is here perceived 
that there is no necessity of making religion an engine of state 
policy ; while our rulers are not disposed to press religion into 
6 


62 


the service of their ambition, so neither do our clergy hope io 
increase their power and influence, by blending the church and 
the state. Here it is, at length, fully discovered, that a man 
may worship God according to the dictates of his own con- 
science, and be nevertheless a useful member of civil society. 
How long it will be before this discovery shall be as entire and 
universal as it is now imperfect and limited, God only knows. 
But that the church of Christ will never recover her primitive 
order and purity till that is the case, is certain. 

2. The reformers, while they had but a very imperfect know- 
ledge of the rights of man, were equally unacquainted with the 
constitution and powers of the human mind. It was to the im- 
mortal honour of Locke, that he should lead the way, and en- 
lighten mankind on both these subjects, very different in their 
nature, but equally important in their influence, yet intimately 
connected in the same subject. And it cannot be doubted, but 
that his skilful delineation of the hyman mind led him to those 
just and liberal views of religious freedom and toleration, with 
which he equally surprised, instructed, and delighted the most 
intelligent minds in Europe. Writers have succeeded Locke of 
more splendour and celebrity as philologists ; and if they have 
corrected some mistakes, and supplied some deficiencies which 
escaped him, in his immense labours and unwearied researches, 
they have built on foundations immovably laid by him. 

But another task remained; for, with whatever accuracy 
Locke and those that followed him delineated the intellectual 
powers of man, the dispute still remained unsettled, whether the 
will of man were free — a dispute which was truly important, as 
it involved many doctrines of religion and morality. This dis- 
pute, which had been carried on between papists and protestants 
now raged between predestinarians and Arminians ; but was 
carried on in the dark, by men who did not understand each 
other’s ground or weapons, or, in fact, their own. 

This country claims the honour of giving birth to the man who 
put this grand question at rest. Jonathan Edwards, proceeding 
on the principles of Locke, as far as he went into the investiga- 
tion of the mind, settled the doctrine of the human will as firmly 
and unanswerably as Locke had that of the understanding . Yet 


63 


so,, in general, as to give neither side of the dispute the victory. 
But he silenced both parties, by demonstrating that they had 
both fundamentally mistaken the grand principles of the subject 
about which they contended. He showed, that as the will is not 
governed by a self-determining power, so neither is its free- 
dom impaired by moral depravity. Several answers were at- 
tempted to this incomparable work ; but some of them, it is 
said, were still-born, and so saved the credit of their authors : 
while one of Edwards’s principal antagonists, as I have heard, 
died with vexation, because he came to the birth, and was not 
able to bring forth. 

Edwards, with a force of reason and intellect, which it is be- 
lieved by many was never surpassed in any human effort, hav- 
ing drawn the lines of this great subject, apparently concur- 
rent with truth and experience when drawn, but which no one 
could trace till his pervading mind led the way, was able to 
perceive thereby the import and harmony of the doctrines of 
the gospel which relate to the corruption and depravity of hu- 
man nature, and, in general, of all the doctrines of grace. He 
perceived that man’s inability to comply with the gospel con- 
stitutes the very essence of his crime, being only of the moral 
kind , as already explained ; that the provision of the gospel is 
general, and its offer universal. 

From his view of the constitution and powers of the mind, 
he was able to understand and explain the doctrine of a moral 
necessity, under which man acts, harmonizing on the one hand 
with that of divine decrees, as taught by Calvin, and, on the 
other, with that of moral agency, which had never been so 
clearly explained and illustrated as by himself. Hence Dr. Hill, 
one of the ablest of the Scotch divines, and the author of the 
Institutes , says, that Jonathan Edwards may be styled Me “ prince 
of the Calvinists .” Certain it is, that he did for them more than 
they could do for themselves, showing the decrees of God com- 
patible with human liberty, and the doctrine of total depravity 
reconcilable with man’s accountableness and guilt, because of 
a moral nature. 

Edwards was followed in some of his leading opinions by 
Hopkins, and Bellamy, and West, and, eventually, by most of 


64 


the evangelical divines in the northeastern section of the union. 
His writings have been published and read in Great Britian ; 
and many of their most distinguished writers and orthodox di- 
vines have adopted the general outline of his sentiments. 

Neither the term New Divinity , by which this strain of sen- 
timent is sometimes called, is appropriate, nor any more so is 
that of Hopkinsianism. The sentiments, generally called New 
Divinity, did not originate in this country, and were known in 
the church long before the days of Edwards or Hopkins. Mil- 
ner, in his church history, asserts, that the doctrine of a limi- 
ted atonement was not known in the ancient Christian church 
till the time of St. Augustine ; nor is it admitted by all, that 
St. Augustine himself held that sentiment. Certain it is, that 
the greater part of protestants have held a general atonement. 
And through the writings of many of the ablest and most ortho- 
dox divines, the general strain of doctrine taught by Edwards, 
Hopkins, and Bellamy, are discoverable. 

Why this system should be named after Hopkins, in prefer- 
ence to Edwards, is not easily accounted for, unless it were be- 
cause it was feared the greatness and fame of Edwards would 
give too much weight and respectability to a scheme which was 
called after his name. Edwards was the great master spirit of 
his day, and, in theological truth, was the luminary of his country. 

The day and the labours of Edwards, and the eminent men 
who followed in his steps, form a memorable era in the histo- 
ry of the church. This may be distinguished by the great and 
sudden increase of divine light and Christian knowledge atten- 
ding their ministry. For the lapse of nearly a century, no part 
of the globe has experienced so many, and such remarkable 
revivals of religion, nor is there any country in the world where 
so large a proportion of the whole mass of the people are 
known to profess Christianity, attended with evidence of its 
sincerity. As these people have rapidly emigrated into every 
part of the United States, this evangelical work has followed 
them, and New-England has been the radiating centre whence 
reformations have spread to every part of the union. There 
certainly may be exceptions to this remark, but, as a general 
truth, it cannot be denied. 


65 


As it was with the grand Saxon reformer, so it was with Ed- 
wards : they neither of them proceeded so far into the minu- 
ter parts of reformation as some men who rose up after them ; 
yet Edwards, though he travelled farther into the great fields 
of truth than any uninspired man, was not wholly occupied with 
speculation. Few men in our own country were ever made 
Christ’s honoured instruments of turning more souls to righteous- 
ness. 

The reformation of Luther bore a more direct and efficient 
relation to the demolition of the massy walls, the marble towers, 
and iron dungeons of Rome, than to the erection of the true gos- 
pel church. It was more general, embracing nations, courts, and 
princes, and less directed to the internal organization of Christ’s 
church, in reference to purity of doctrine and discipline, than the 
reformation commenced by Edwards, and carried on by others 
coeval with, and subsequent to him. I repeat, and mention once 
for all, that I name Edwards, and his fellow labourers, not be- 
cause he was first in the general strain of doctrine to which I al- 
lude. Many distinguished men, in various parts of Europe, even 
as early as Luther and Calvin, maintained as nearly the same 
ground as their imperfect notions of the human mind would admit. 

But after the inquiries of Locke and Edwards had resulted in 
the discovery and delineation of men’s intellectual and moral 
powers, the true intent of revelation concerning the great doc- 
trines of divine decrees, human depravity, liberty, accountable- 
ness, and guilt, was better understood, and the grand and glorious 
work of the first reformers was carried forward farther towards 
its ultimate consummation. 

I have dwelt long on this article, and have, in some degree, 
anticipated, though not in its express form, what I intended for the 
third. 

3. A correct knowledge of the powers, faculties, and character 
of the subject, will be readily perceived to be essential to a just 
understanding of the nature of the government under which he is 
placed. Accordingly, neither the first reformers, nor their imme- 
diate followers, either entertained or conveyed any very correct 
notions of God’s moral government over the world. 

Except as far as related to the elect and church of God, it is 
very difficult to form any notion of what government they iraa- 
6 * 


66 


gine God exercises over the human race ; or the ends he has in 
view by showing', them temporal favours. None of his dealings 
with them can be corrective ; they have no trial or probation. 
There is nothing intended for them in mercy ; there is nothing 
designed ultimately for their amendment ; they have no inter- 
est in reformers or reformations. I say again, no evasion or 
subterfuge can be so base, none so mean and barefaced, as the 
pretence that the non-elect are unknown. They are known to 
God, who is exercising an infinitely wise and gracious government 
over the world ; and he deals with them as creatures whose char- 
acter and destiny are fully known. 

The non-elect, as many contend the reformers believed, and 
as some of them probably did believe, labour under an immu- 
table condemnation, drawn upon them by the sin of Adam ; and, 
beside this, a fatal and natural incapacity to obey God, and an 
eternal decree of reprobation. I then ask, what kind of govern- 
ment does God exercise over them X 

The word of God settles this question, but on far different 
grounds, as to their condition. 

It has been already remarked, that the doctrine of a propitia- 
tion for all men, and a general proclamation of grace, presents a 
far nobler outline of the plan of redemption than can arise from 
any view of a limited atonement. The same remark applies still 
more eminently to the idea of a mediatorial government exer- 
cised over all men. Were divine truth silent, the hand of Provi- 
dence, dealing out innumerable blessings to all nations, shows 
them to be under the Mediator’s reign. It cannot be denied that 
the comparative advantages of nations and ages greatly differ. 
Atonement and redemption are widely different in their nature and 
effects. The former sets open the door of mercy, the latter ap- 
plies the benefits of Christ. Some nations, and some portions of 
mankind, have certainly been placed nearer the fountains of 
light and mercy, and others apparently more remote ; but a God 
of infinite goodness reigns over all ; a sovereign of almighty 
power, and mysterious in his ways, directs the eternal destinies 
of all. He is uncontrolled in his operations; he can work by 
means or without means ; by means visible or invisible. 

There is not an idea more incongruous to the condition of the 


67 


whole human family, to the spirit of the gospel, or to the ex- 
press declarations of the word of God, than that man is not in 
a state of probation. If God commands all men everywhere to 
repent, if he is not willing that any should perish, but that all 
should come to repentance ; if his long suffering and mercy are 
directed to that object, they must be in a state of trial preparatory 
to their everlasting and unalterable condition. 

In relation to the divine government, with many of the re- 
formers, there seemed to be but two predominating ideas, viz. 
Grace and Fate ; whereas the Scriptures uniformly convey to us 
the notion of a moral government ; that the Supreme Ruler, 
full of mercy and compassion, having conferred great temporal 
blessings on his rebellious subjects ; having wrought out a pro- 
pitiation for sin, by sending his son to die for the world, has is- 
sued a proclamation of pardon, and an offer of mercy ; not an 
insidious proclamation of pardon to all, when atonement was 
made for but a part, and, perhaps, but a very small part, if we 
regard the present and past time, and so made under the shal- 
low and deceptive pretence, that the true elect are not known ; 
but a true and sincere offer of pardon to all, on the broad ground 
of a complete propitiation and boundless provision. 

But it will be asked, “ if election be admitted, what does it 
matter, after all, whether atonement be limited or general ?” To 
which I answer, it matters every thing : A general atonement 
renders a universal proclamation of pardon and reconciliation to 
God consistent ; it places fallen man in a state of probation ; seta 
open before him the door of mercy ; and, of course, shows us 
why, and to what end, favours are bestowed on the wicked 
fully accounts for the exhortations, warnings, persuasions, and 
threatenings, which are set before him ; or, as I said before, 
(and I think it worth repeating) there never was a greater, a 
more shameful, or ridiculous absurdity, than to say to a sinner, 
for whom Christ did not die, “ If you do not believe in Christ 
you cannot be saved.” While, on the other hand, election is 
fully compatible with a general atonement, and the universal 
invitations of the gospel. God’s design to save a part of the 
human race, lays no bar in the way of the rest. If I send my 
boat and bring off five men from a wreck, and give the other 


68 


five an offer of coming also, and they refuse, they will have no 
excuse ; they will deserve their fate. If they deserved it, in case 
my boat had not gone at all, for refusing my offer they deserve 
it doubly. 

The decree of election is carried into effect, and the elect 
are saved, not merely because they were elected, but for the 
same reason for which they were elected. The same may be 
said of all the decrees of God. He is infinitely wise and un- 
changeable. His decrees I understand to be his previous and 
immutable determination to do every thing in the manner which 
would be best, or which his wisdom would approve, at the 
time of doing it, had there been no previous decree. If, there- 
fore, he was, in fact, able to create, uphold, and govern a uni- 
verse of intelligent creatures, in perfect consistency with their 
freedom, he was equally able to form a previous determination 
to do so. In short, whatever he can do, he can previously de- 
sign to do ; and whatever he has done, or will do, he did unal- 
terable and eternally design to do. As much more liberty as 
can actually exist under an infinitely wise and powerful govern- 
ment, can, with equal ease, certainty, and equity, have been 
unalterably predetermined. The opposers of decrees seem 
never to have considered, that with a being of almighty power, 
wisdom and goodness, it is as easy to determine beforehand, as 
it is to do ; and that the whole plan of divine government is not 
carried into effect, as I said, merely because decreed, but both 
its execution and decree rest immutably on the same basis, viz. 
the entire approbation of God as the best plan. 

Yet, surprising as it may seem, some of our triangular preach- 
ers pretend to have found out that God’s plan is not the best pos- 
sible plan ; and it offends them very much to hear any one as- 
sert that, of all possible plans, God’s plan is the best ; you might 
nearly as well tell them that all sin consists in selfishness. I 
think they must be far greater metaphysicians than Edwards. 
They must be as sharp-sighted as the companions of Poole, who 
saw the fiery dragon, “ cum cada retorta in circulo .” Perhaps, 
they will draw their main argument from their ignorance, and 
rely upon saying, that they do not know but there may be a bet- 
ter plan. To this I shall only reply, that the material of this 


69 


argumeut is as plenty and abundant as it is useless. It is not 
“ ad ignorantiam, v but ab ignorantia. 

I have noticed some articles in which the reformation fell 
short of that maturity to which it will one day certainly arrive ; 
and have pointed out the obvious progress which has been made 
in those articles, in various sections of the church, and parti- 
cularly in our own country. The people, at least of our own 
country, will not be backward to allow, that, in the great arti- 
cle of religious freedom and toleration, we are far in advance 
of every nation on earth. Why should it be thought incredi- 
ble that we have made some progress in the great and exalted 
work of reformation ? Is it less probable that Christ would fa- 
vour his church in this country than in Europe, where the ac- 
cumulated crimes of thousands of years swell the materials of 
national retribution to a vast amount ? — Where national esta- 
blishments and churches, slumber on the bosom of luxury, and 
repose in the golden dreams of ambition ? 

Why should the wrinkles of malice deepen, and the finger 
of scorn be pointed at the names of Edwards, and Hopkins, and 
Bellamy, and West, amd Emmons, when they and their fellow 
labourers have been made instrumental of turning many souls 
to righteousness ; and have been more successful in religious 
reformations than any men now living on earth ? And if that por- 
tion of the church has been favoured and honoured with a larger 
portion of the Holy Spirit than any other, does not this fact 
bear testimony to their doctrine 1 To the purity and spiritu- 
ality, the life and power of their doctrine, can alone be ascribed 
the success which has attended their labours. 

With feelings of regret, which I have no words to express, 
I am compelled to advert to the systematic, determined, perse- 
vering, and diversified efforts of a set of men, who have ac- 
quired influence, in this city, to subvert the doctrines, and de- 
stroy the influence and reputation of these reformers in the 
Christian church. Their writings are accused of consisting of 
nothing but “ verbiage, tautology, absurdity, arminianism, so- 
cinianism, atheism, nonsense,” &c.* The reformation which 


* Seo Dr. Samuel S. Smith, in his note on the cover of Ely’s Poems. 


70 


they effected in doctrine and discipline, though thousands of 
souls, both on earth and in heaven, will remember it with eter- 
nal joy and triumph, is either altogether hissed into opprobri- 
ous silence, or loudly spoken of with contempt. 

It is nothing to them, that to claim the birth of such a man as 
Jonathan Edwards, is an honour to a nation ; that for vigour of 
intellect he can fall into no class , beneath that of Newton and 
Aristotle. As to “verbiage,” his writings, and those of many 
of his brethren, will be read with instruction and pleasure, 
when the vapid books of those who cast the reflection, written 
■. with moon-beams, and dictated by the night-mare, shall have 
perished in the rubbish, lumber, and rust of libraries. 

There are two very cogent reasons why they do not answer 
the books of these tautologists ; one is, because they never read 
them. This, of all suppositions, is the most charitable, after 
hearing their statements, so infinitely distant from the truth. 
Had they read the books they condemn, they must either hold 
a different language, or give up all pretence to veracity. The 
other is, that were they to read these books, and in those few 
instances where they have read them, they cannot answer them. 
Were they honest and candid, they would say, as Dr. Taylor 
said, after reading a small tract of Edwards, “I have been wri- 
ting these thirty years, and this little book confutes it all.” 

But they have no notion of argument ; they do not like that 
way of defence ; it is too metaphysical. Their plan, both of 
defence and attack, is drawn from two sources ; bold assertions, 
and gross ridicule. Yes, the great gun of the city has been 
fired so incessantly, charged with this kind of ammunition, that 
he is suspected by many to be breech-burnt. But he does not 
shoot bullets, of consequence nobody is killed. And, not only 
the great gun, for I love to talk figuratively, but field pieces, 
swivels, blunderbusses, muskets, carbines, pistols — even down 
to pop-guns, have fired in squadrons and battalions ; and some, 
I believe, as small as the cannon made by an artist of the queen 
of Sweden, to shoot fleas and bed-bugs with, which is still kept 
as a curiosity in the Swedish museum. One of this last de- 
scription it was, that fired off the “ Constrast” already mention- 
ed. But, luckily, he did not kill even a bug. 


71 


But the weapons of this controversy are not generally level- 
led at Edwards, Hopkins, &c., but against the teachers in this 
city, supposed to hold their sentiments. Unwearied efforts are 
made to dislodge them from their stations, and drive them out 
of the city. This is done by weakening their influence — repre- 
senting their sentiments as horrible and dangerous — withdraw- 
ing from them the confidence of their hearers — treating them 
with coldness and contempt — disseminating dark surmises and 
uncertain rumours among the people, and endeavouring, as was 
said in another case, 

“ With ambiguous words to sound or taint integrity.” 

Besides, great exertions are made to fill all the neighbouring 
vacancies with ministers of their own stamp, and to prevent one 
of a different description from obtaining a settlement. In this 
they ai;e greatly facilitated by a ministerial nursery, not far off, 
in which abundance of saplings are growing, nearly ready to set ; 
and these they can prune and shape as they please. 

But what is the motive of all this? Ah ! here I must be cau- 
tious, for it is dangerous to inquire into the motives of great men. 
I have lived long enough to discover that a man’s motives are 
generally as obvious as his conduct. And many men put me in 
mind of the ostrich, which, when pursued over the tropical 
sands, will run a while, and then hide his head in the sand, while 
his hind parts, to speak delicately, are all exposed ; and you 
may come up and take him at pleasure. But these men hide 
nothing ; their motives are perfectly obvious. But we may judge 
with still greater certainty, by considering who they are. 

Some of them are foreigners, from the island of Great Britain ; 
some are Dutch, &c. ; and they certainly have their national 
prejudices to plead their excuse. They are men of considera- 
ble learning and talents ; and had not this paltry national preju- 
dice covered their minds with a kind of intellectual vellum, 
highly unfavourable to sharp sight or quick sensation, they would 
be very clever fellows. But this renders them, on certain occa- 
sions, quite numb and rigid. It is perfectly natural for them to 
spurn the idea of being instructed, or detected of errors, by 


72 


any thing indigenous to the new hemisphere. They did not 
come hither to receive, but to give instruction ; “ non ab allis 
corrigendi, sed alios corrigere.” 

Some of this description there are from New-England, who 
were once professed Hopkinsians — stars in the Zodiac — 

“ But, O, how fallen ! — how changed !” 

Of this number is the Queen of Sweden’s little cannon, who, 
little as lie is, is a sharp shooter. He it was, as I before said, that 
shot off the “ Contrast.” A disappointment in love, it is com- 
monly reported, made him, at once, an anti-Hopkinsian and a 
poet. His poems were so lucky in the article of flattery, to cer- 
tain great men he wished to please, that they effectually did his 
business for him ; and I expect few have read them without feel- 
ing a strong propensity to do the same for themselves. There 
goes a pleasant story with regard to this man. It is said, after his 
total defection, wishing to convince a certain audience of the 
enormous errors of the Hopkinsians, he read them, as a speci- 
men, one of his former sermons. I believe few will wonder that 
his audience should be struck with horror. His poems fully in- 
dicate his diappointment, as they abound in the well known 

“ Hair-brained, sentimental grace.” 

Not grace in Calvin’s sense of the word, for neither his poems, 
Contrast, nor conduct, show much of that. But whether the Hop- 
kinsians have reason to regret the cruelty of his mistress, or the 
lovers of poetry to rejoice in it, I leave for future consideration. 

Perhaps these men will consider it as a matter of joy and ex- 
ultation, that this city has, from the first, shared little in the 
great and frequent reformations prevailing to the north and 
east ; nor do they consider, that the comparatively small num- 
ber of professors of religion found in this city, would be still 
much smaller if restricted to those whose profession commen- 
ced in this city. 

Confused, unsettled, and bewildered, like all great cities, 
with an immense heterogeneous mass of strangers, of no cer- 
tain character, overwhelmed in business, dazzled with wealth 
and show, and occupied with every thing more than religion, 
yet willing to have enough of that to be fashionable here, and 


73 


go to heaven hereafter at some very distant day ; this city has 
ever afforded a field of operation and influence for teachers of 
a complexion like its own ; and they have not been wanting in 
sufficient numbers and activity. And they have prevailed thus 
far, at the dreadful expense of the eternal welfare of thousands 
of souls. 

Their motive, for I will not shrink from the truth, in exclu- 
ding the reformers and reformations, the doctrines and principles 
of New England is not at all of a religious or moral nature. The 
love of truth, as I said above, does not produce persecution, en- 
mity, pride, ill will, disdain, overreaching, undermining, in- 
trigue. They deceive the people of this city by assuming false 
and specious motives ; and never was deception more exqui- 
site, more profound, or imposition more gross and triumphant. 
Were they actuated by the love of truth and the fear of error, 
very different would be their aspect and behaviour. But it is 
the love of self, and the fear of a rival, that urges them on. It 
is ambition to acquire and maintain a poor, wretched, short- 
lived, pitiful, ghostly power and influence over men. 

They feel little of the love of truth, or the love of God, or 
the love of men, in this unhallowed system of opposition and 
intrigue. The word of God out of the question, were they in- 
fluenced by human authorities, they might blush for the course 
they are pursuing. The names of Fuller, and Hall, and Jay, 
and Ryland, are sufficient to show them, that the sentiments 
they oppose are not without the support of talents and elo- 
quence beyond the Atlantic, in a comparison with which, I 
leave them to find a place for themselves, if they can. 

It is not the love of truth by which they are led ; they there- 
fore know, and have studied well, the chequered part they are 
to act — the tortuous course they must pursue. They know in 
what companies to be all meekness, gentleness, condescension, 
and humility ; so that a harmless, credulous soul, will compare 
one of them to John the beloved disciple, another to Moses the 
meek lawgiver. They know when and how to burn with de- 
votion; to soar in flights of faith ; to appropriate all the 
promises to themselves ; to knock at the gates of heaven with 
violence, and boldly demand a seat near the filial throne. Ah ! 

7 


74 


says one, it is surely Daniel or Isaiah come from heaven ; says 
another, it is a second Elijah in his fiery car; or, says a third* 
more like St. Paul wrapt in the third heavens.* 

Would that I could stop here ; but there is another part of 
this picture : and in the sight of heaven I will not shun to de- 
clare the whole truth. As far as I have gone, they very often 
hear from their flatterers : — they shall hear the rest from a 
better friend than a flatterer. They know when and how to 
change their dove-like plumage into scales, and their snowy 
fleece into brindled spots, and threatning fangs. There is but a 
little distance between a sigh and a hiss, or between a smile 
and a grin : — and once a hiss was succeeded by a stab. They 
know how to dart on their victim like a baselisk from the sand, 
or to reach him like a Scythian with an arrow from behind a 
hedge. A man engaged in his own concerns, unsuspecting and un- 
protected, is their favourite mark. And let the public know, as there 
is one man who dares to say what he knows, that I have not made 
one of these assertions without a correspondent fact in my eye. 

The people of this city are entitled to know the grounds of 
this whole business ; they ought to know it, and they shall 
know it, if they will read. The men in this city who hold to 
what is usually styled New-England sentiments, have entered 
into no dispute with any one. They ha*e with all possible en- 
deavors cultivated the friendship and esteem of those who dif- 
fered from them. They have even generally avoided entering 
on disputed points, in their own churches, that they might 
avoid all appearance of controversy. What has been the con- 
sequence ? They have been attacked with great virulence ajid 
hostility, and in a manner, in short, which justifies every thing 
which has been said in these numbers. 

But they are accused of great errors. What are their errors 1 
Why, they hold to a general atonement. So does a great portion 
of the protestant church. The sentiment is clearly taught in the 
scriptures. They cannot even show that Calvin himself held dif- 
ferently. Most of the standard writers since the reformation hold 
the same. — Well — they deny original sin. This is not true. 
They deny imputation of guilt and a transfer of character ; and 

One of them has been denominated the St. Paul of America. 


75 


so did Calvin. And if any one will examine the opinion of the 
reformers, together with their confessions of faith, he will per- 
ceive the doctrine of imputation by no means prevalent or ge- 
neral among them. They held to the original and entire cor- 
ruption of human nature, by the fall, and so do we. 

In a word, the preceding remarks apply with equal force 
also to the doctrine of depravity. But, why is all this uproar ? 
A majority of the Synod of New-York and New-Jersy are 
full in the sentiments I have advanced. And will these people 
unchurch the Synod, and turn them out of doors? The Gene- 
ral Assembly of the Presbyterian Church may be nearly equally 
divided ; though, in that body, the number in favour of what I 
consider correct sentiments is rapidly increasing. 

In a general survey of the protestant church in America, 
these men cannot pretend to a majority. But having acquired 
a little influence in this city, their arrogance and presumption 
seem inclined to leap over all bounds. Were they inclined to 
fair and open controvesy, they would be answered to their sa- 
tisfaction; but they desire no such thing. Their plan and 
their hope is by manoeuvring, by secret working behind the 
curtain, by art and intrigue, to undermine the reputation of the 
men who hold to the sentiments which prevail in New-England, 
and drive them from the city. 

The question is, whether they will succeed. All triumph, 
short of the triumph of truth and righteousness, is as short- 
lived as it is impotent and vain. There was a day when the 
parasites of Hildebrand adored him as the vicegerant of Christ, 
and as the Lord of men’s consciences. We may turn to the 
page of history, which represents him parading through the 
streets of Rome like a blazing star ; the triple diadem sparkling 
on his head, and the imperial purple floating from his should- 
ers. The thrones of Europe shook when he frowned; and 
monarchs were obsequious to his powerful mandate. There, 
one would be ready to say, was solid food for ambition ; there 
was an object worthy of toil and intrigue. But he vanished 
like a dream ! Ages have rolled away since he went to his final 
audit, before that God who respects not the persons of princes. 


76 


“ I saw the wealthy wicked boast, 

“ Till at thy frown he fell ; 

“ His honours in a dream are lost, 

“ And he awakes in hell.” 

Is there a menial slave, of piety and virtue, who followed at a 
distance the chariot of Gregory the Seventh, whose character 
and destiny any Christian would not prefer to that of this spi- 
ritual tyrant? 

The worst that can befal an ambitious spirit, is to succeed in 
his utmost plans and wishes. But, whether he fail or succeed, 
he is more an object of pity than resentment. And from my 
soul I pity these busy men, the very vital principle of whose 
scheme is selfishness and ambition ; for, could they achieve 
what they aim at, it is but the tinsel of power, spread thinner 
than ever the gold beater spread his leaf; could they gain all 
they seek for, and for which they dig, and climb, and creep, and 
whisper, and trim; for which they have in store a thousand 
smiles, and frowns, and sighs, and hisses, and winks, and nods, 
and flatteries, and threats, it would all evaporate in a few blasts 
of applause, not made of the purest brea th ; it would perish 

“ Like the baseless fabric of a vision, 

“ And leave not a wreck behind.” 

But, should it be seriously asked what evidence there is that 
ambition is at the bottom of this conduct ; I reply, that this, 
and this only, is sufficient to account for what they do ; God i3 
love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. 
The whole conduct of these men is such as might be expected 
from an ambitious man, labouring to supplant his rival and enemy. 
They show no love nor condescension — no meekness nor humility 
— no openness nor magnanimity. If you condescend, they vapour 
— if you resist, they are enraged — if you retreat, they pursue — 
and if you submit, they triumph. 

Ambition, always vain, was never vainer than in this case. 
What if they triumph ? There is not the splended charriot, the 
triumphal arch, the adoring millions ; there is not the crown of 
Hildebrand, heavy with gold and gems — his splendid throne and 


77 


imperial robes, in expectance. Nor does this base contention 
portend a crown in heaven, or celestial robes of light and 
glory. 

The sincere friend of truth may humbly repose his confi- 
dence in the God of truth, though his foes are numerous, strong, 
and active. And I place full confidence in the belief, that cor- 
rect sentiments will prevail — that they will not be rooted out of 
this city. Neither the pitchy, midnight cloud of the eleventh, 
nor the early dawn of the sixteenth century are to return ; nor 
are the discoverers and improvers of the eighteenth century to 
be compelled, like Gallileo and Copernicus, to retract their dis- 
coveries, in order that the champions of selfishness may rule 
the church a little longer. Civil rulers have learned that they 
can make shift to wield the sword and sceptre, and are in no 
dread of a peal of thunder from the Vatican ; nor are they in 
need of monks and inquisitors at their elbow, to point out the 
victims of the mother of harlots. The amusements of the 
autO’de-fe are past ; and, as for the ghostly lords and umpires of 
conscience, they are never more to return. The faithful wit- 
nesses of truth are no more dragged to the anvil, that their 
chains and fetters may be made fast ; nor are these moral black- 
smiths longer to rivet their fetters on the mind, made for free and 
liberal discussion. 

But, defeated as Satan and his angels, and all his legions of 
spiritual despots, emissaries, and abettors are — dislodged from 
their main fortresses — driven from the open field, and ferreted 
from glens, coverts, and fastnesses, it is astonishing to see the 
activity, the incredible zeal,, boldness, and desperation of their 
expiring efforts. They can no more endure the light than 
ghosts and goblins can abide the approach of morning ; it dis- 
closes their frightful features, and pierces them through with 
intolerable pain. Yet, in their ardour to maintain even a hair- 
breath of ground, or perhaps to bring off the body of Patro- 
clus, or some hero slain, they forget that they can do nothing 
but in darkness, and bolt fairly out into open day. What do we 
see ? — Their whole panoply ! — You might nearly take their de- 
scription from Ossian’s cloudy ghost : “ Their sword is a pale 
meteor, without edge or point: — their spear is mist” — their 


78 


breastplate made of something which shines in the night like 
burning gold/ now appears a miserable patch of rotton wood. 
Their helmet is paper, whose only virtue is derived from some 
great name, such as CALVIN, written on it in capitals. Yet 
their countenance is very fierce, and smoke issues from their 
mouth and nostrils. Did you not see their weapons, you might 
expect a terrible conflict ; and, as it is, they will make a stout 
resistance to every thing but “ the sword of the Spirit, which 
is the word of God.” 

I fully anticipate all that will be said of these remarks ; the 
contemptuous slang of Arminianism ! Socinianism ! Ribaldry ! 
Slander ! that will be thrown out. But, that reason which ren - 
ders man the lord of this terrestrial globe, and which continually 
strives to rescue him from the reign of his passions and preju- 
dices, if allowed to speak, will show the reader that my pre- 
mises are true ; and, as for the conclusions, I wait for time and 
experience, those grand correctors of folly, to justify them. 
That tribunal before which I am perfectly certain this produc- 
tion will fare the best, will be the consciences of the very men I 
accuse ; for they well know I speak the truth. Were they, in- 
deed, as ardently engaged in promoting truth, as they are error ; 
in removing old prejudices, as they are in supporting them ; in 
promoting the spread of light and reformation, as they are in 
extinguishing the one, and resisting the other, still using the 
means to do it which they are using, they would have reason to 
be ashamed of their conduct, and would merit the disapprobation 
of all men ; for the end cannot sanctify the means. 

The cause of Jesus Christ, important and glorious in its nature, 
divine in its origin, and pure in its principles, uniform and resist- 
less in its progress, and secure of its final issue, asks no assistance 
from those artifices by which the schemes of ambition are accom- 
plished, much less does it fear those artifices, or the more bold 
attacks of wicked men. And it will progress and prosper ; nei- 
ther shall the gates of hell prevail against it. Let these men con- 
tinue to plot and whisper ; let them summon to their aid their 
sharpest satire and best logic— -their boldest assertions, and most 
pious tones, still their scheme is not on the ground of truth, and 

* Foxfire, 


79 


it will not stand. After having wasted their wit on phantoms of 
their own creation, their zeal in vain efforts, and all their mighty 
resources in building castles in the air, they must at last bow 
to the truth in those solemn scenes, where the illusions of 
ambition are not known, and where the adorations of a multi- 
tude, led on by sophistry and intrigue, can no longer give coun- 
tenance. 


INVESTIGATOR. 


/ 


TO 


THE PEOPLE OF NEW YORK. 


I had almost concluded to issue this Triangle, which 
the reader will perceive is the true and real Triangle, 
without any address, advertisement, ad lectorem, or preface ; 
but I feared it would resemble a door without a threshold, 
or a building without a courtyard or portico. It is not 
worth while for a writer to say much about his motives 
in his preface. It would be like a man who was con- 
ducting you into a Museum, who should stop you at the 
door to tell you what was to be seen : it would be quicker 
work to let you in. And Johnson’s saying, that a book 
will fix its own age and country, is generally true. 

This book is not a “ Habeas corpus ad respondendum ,” 
but rather a Habebunt corpora ad vivendum. I fear the 
lawyers will not comprehend this phrase, but the divines 
will, “ and that will do,” as the great Wellington said 
when he laid his hands on the pommel of his saddle. The 
Hopkinsians are a very clever set of men ; all they want 
is to live, and “ let live.” They are disinterestedly be- 
nevolent. They wish people to know the truth, merely 
for the truth’s sake. They, to be sure, do not wish all 
their necks to be made into one, and that put at the 


82 


option of Nero. A Dey of Algiers once put the Spanish 
Ambassador into a great mortar, and shot him away at 
the Spanish fleet. Now, no man likes to be sent out 
of a city in this style. I use these little metaphors to 
convey my ideas : nobody believes that we have a Nero 
or the Dey of Algiers to contend with ; but we perceive 
they aim at thorough work , and that in a summary way ; 
we must, therefore, do a little — hence the Triangle. 


I. 


THE TRIANGLE. 


SECOND SERIES. 


No. I. 

I feel a concious pleasure in addressing the people of this 
noble and flourishing city — the first in the New World, and the 
fairest on the globe. And let it not be understood that I con- 
sider myself as environed with cross-eyed selfishness ; as im- 
mured in a region of gloomy prejudice ; as condemned to wear 
the galling chains forged by iron-hearted intolerance, and rivet- 
ed by the hand of sturdy ignorance. Of these imperious and 
unsightly demons I feel no fear ; yet I revere and admire the 
varied talents I see conspicuous in every profession and call- 
ing, in every art and science, both liberal and mechanical — 

“ Where Liberty dwells, there is my country.” 

There is not wanting liberality of sentiment, magnanimity of 
character ; nor is this city wanting in its portion — nor is it a scant- 
ed and measured portion of intellect, adorned with the beauty 
of virtue, enlightened with the glory of benevolence, and fairly 
loosened from the gordian knot of interest and selfish conside- 
ration. And I rejoice to say, that many whose theory allows 
them but a cable’s length of range, are, nevertheless, in heart 
and practice, floating at large on the main ocean of real benevo- 
lencel 


84 


Else why do I see these asylums for the sons and daughters 
of affliction — these grand and extensive hospitals, alms-houses, 
and receptacles for every class of the wretched from the keen 
and blighting storm of misfortune, whose extended and lofty 
walls might vie with the palace of a monarch ? whose nume- 
rous apartments, and ample provisions, seem to promise repose 
and comfort to all that need ? Else why do I see long ranks of 
poor children, of helpless orphans, enfilading the streets, to be 
instructed on the sabbath ; and that by gentlemen, and even 
ladies, of rank and fortune, whose only remuneration is the 
pleasing consciousness of benefiting such as, by their tender 
and helpless years, can have no knowledge of the extent of the 
benefit intended ? 

There is a nobleness of soul, a grandeur of sentiment, a dis- 
interestedness of heart, which soars as far above all considera- 
tion of self as the heavens are above the earth. An hour’s en- 
joyment of that sublime pleasure is worth more than a Roman 
triumph — more than all the years through which ambition toils 
and climbs, even though it gain the summit. There is such a 
thing as doing good for the sake of the pleasure it brings ; and he 
who knows not what that means is a stranger to pleasure. 
Let me here, for the sake of those who have never read it, re- 
peat the story of Carazan ; and which, though I cannot reach the 
style of its author, and may give it but imperfectly, (having no 
book before me,) may furnish a useful lesson to some who may 
read it. 

Carazan was the richest merchant in Bagdat, with no chil- 
dren or dependants ; his expenses had been small, and, with a 
prosperous run of busines in the silk and diamond trade of In- 
dia for many years, he had amassed immense trea sures. He 
met with no losses, his caravans \yere expeditious, traded with 
success, and returned in safety. One enterprise made way for 
another ; every successive project was formed on a greater 
scale, and all were terminated with success. Business was 
swayed by his influence ; merchants depended on his will ; no- 
bles and princes envied his magnificence, and even the caliph 
feared his power. 


85 


But Carazan lived only for himself. His maxim was never 
to move but with a prospect of advantage. He never gave to 
the poor; he never listened to the cries of distress ; calls on his 
beneficence were repelled with a frown, and the poor had long 
learned to shun his dwelling. 

But the city was suddenly surprised with a great change in 
his conduct. He removed to a principal square, in the centre 
of the city, and made proclamation to all the poor to resort to 
his palace. They flocked together by hundreds, and by thou- 
sands ; and what was their surprise to find his halls set out with 
tables loaded with provisions ; and such things as were most 
needed were dispersed in his porches and courtyards, and in 
the adjoining streets. People of all ranks were astonished, but 
could form no estimate of the motive of all this liberality and 
profusion. 

On the second day Carazan made his appearance, and mount, 
ing a scaffold, raised for the purpose, he beckoned with his 
hand, and the murmer of applause and admiration suddenly 
ceased. 

“ People of Bagdat,” said he, “ I have hitherto lived to my- 
self, henceforth I intend to live for the good of others. Listen 
attentively to the cause of the change you see. As I was sit- 
ting in my counting room, and meditating on future schemes 
of accumulating more wealth, I fell asleep ; immediately I saw 
the angel of death approaching me like a whirlwind, and, ere I 
had time for recollection, he struck me with his dart. My 
soul instantly forsook my body, and I found myself at the bar 
of the Almighty. A dreadful voice from the judgment seat 
addressed me thus ; ‘ You have lived entirely for yourself ; you 
have done no good to others, and, for your punishment, God 
ordains that you be eternally banished from all society.’ By 
a resistless power I felt myself driven from the throne, and 
carried, with inconceivable swiftness, through the heavens. 
Suns and systems passed me, and in a moment 1 was on the 
borders of creation. The shadows of boundless vacuity be- 
gan to frown and deepen before a dreadful region of eternal 
silence, solitude, and darkness. In another moment the faint- 
est ray of creation expired, and I was lost for ever. 

8 


86 


u I stretched out my hands towards the regions of existence, 
and implored the Lord of creation to change my punishment 
if it were but to the torments of the damned, that I might es- 
cape that frightful solitude ; but my horror was too dreadful for 
a moment’s endurance and I awoke. I adore the goodness of 
the great Father who has thus taught me the value of society, 
while he allows me time to taste the pleasures of doing good.” 

I am not about to improve this story by recommending it to 
my reader to dream for the sake of reformation. Indeed, I 
would hope there are no Carazans in the city ; and yet I can- 
not but fear there are some to whom so pungent a dream 
would be very useful. Dreams will come when they will, and 
I am not certain I shall not have a paroxysm of "dreaming be- 
fore I get through these numbers. But there is a mode of 
gaining information at the option of every person, and that I 
am about to recommend--— I mean reading. Every person, it 
is well known, has not leisure for general reading, but every 
person can read enough to answer the purpose of the present 
recommendation. The unhappy prejudice subsisting in this 
city against New-England sentiments would infallibly yield, 
and be completely dissipated by a proper acquaintance with 
the books in which those sentiments are contained. These 
prejudices have not been planted so deep, and cherished with 
such vigour, by the perusal of books, but by deriving an ac- 
count of their books and tenets through a medium which has 
given them a stain foreign to their nature. It has been done 
by perversion. 

True, indeed, a mind already prepossessed, and strongly 
opinionated in error, may not be convinced by reading a book 
wherein the truth is stated. But even this will not hold good 
as a general rule, and in application to great bodies of people. 
The public mind, depraved as men are, will, generally, soon 
get right where the proper means of information are afforded. 

I earnestly recommend to the people of the city to direct 
their attention to some of the books I shall hereafter name. 
They may rest assured that, even provided they should begin 
to read them with prejudice and disgust, they will end with 
pleasure and conviction ; will rise up from the perusal acknow- 


87 


ledging themselves instructed and cured of their antipathy. 
They may be assured that those persons whom they hear dai- 
ly condemning those writings, have never read them. They 
are imposed upon in this business, and their credulity is shame- 
fully abused. They are exactly like the man I have h eard of 
within a day or two, who was strongly condemning the Trian- 
gle, and a person present asked him if he had read it ; he said 
no, but had his account from Mr. Honeygall : well, but had 
Mr. Honeygall read it ? Why no, he had not read it, because he 
would not read so huge a thing ; it would be wicked to read it. 
(Aside.) He never reads any thing. 

So, reader, it is just as wicked for these sage censors of 
books to read the New-England books ; and my word for it> 
they have not that sin to answer for. I ask the great and 
learned Dr. Buckram, (not that there is any such man in reality, 
I only use that name in a kind of allegorical or metaphysical 
sense ;) I ask him whether he has ever read “ Edwards on the 
Will V 1 Ha ! he must think of it. 

I must here let the good people into a secret of us book- 
men which, pe rhaps, they don’t know. It is the practice ot 
some great readers, when they have read the title of a book and 
its contents, and cut into a paragraph here and there, to say 
they have read it ; nor do they think it lying. Some, I believe, 
venture so far as to say they have read a book, when they have 
only read the letters on the back side : but that is going too far : 
I never do that. 

A powerful appeal lies from this subject to the patriotic feel- 
ings of every American. Were any of us in France or Eng- 
land, and should hear them commending the writers of our 
own country, we should feel a secret gratification arising from 
our national attachment ; we should feel it an honour done to 
ourselves ; and so it would be. We feel a pleasure in hearing 
the greatness of Washington, the talents of Franklin and Rit- 
tenhouse, extolled. Every American is gratified at hearing the 
eloquent Chatham declare, in the British parliament, the Ame- 
rican Congress to be one of the noblest bodies of men ever as- 


88 


sembled.* We are not backward to assert the equality, if not 
the ascendency, of our naval and military character. We boast 
of our inventions in the arts — of our success in manufactures. 

And with such varied excellence of talent, would it not be 
extraordinary if, in the theological department, something im- 
portant and respectable had not been achieved ? The fame of 
exhibiting to the world the first perfect experiment of religious 
freedom and toleration cannot be denied us ; and Europe her- 
self has enrolled and immortalized the name of our first theo- 
logical writer. Is the thought incredible that such a man as 
Edwards should kindle the genius and rouse the talents of his 
countrymen ? He did it ; and has been followed by a constella- 
tion of divines and writers on theology, to whom, if the imma- 
turity of our seminaries denied the most perfect clasical ex- 
cellence, nature had not denied intellectual powers of the first 
order, and posterity will not deny the honour of the first grade 
of usefulness and importance in their profession. 

The perusal of their writings, by the people of this city, will 
be attended with several good effects which I shall particular- 
ly distinguish. 

1. It will diminish, if not exterminate, their prejudices against 
New Divinity. For they will be surprised to find their great 
and leading doctrines, such as a general atonement, &c., to be 
the same as taught by the ablest and most orthodox divines 
since the reformation. The notion of moral inability was ne- 
ver a fabrication of the New-England divines ; they will find, in 
the clearest and best writers of England, the same idea. 

2. They will find themselves instructed and pleased. Books 
and Essays written, and Sermons delivered, in places where 
the work of God is carried on, cannot but derive an unction, a 
life and spirit, from the occasions that gave them birth. As the 
face of Moses shone when he descended from Sinai’s glorious 
vision, so men greatly employed and honoured in the work of 
God, will transfuse through their writings the spirit of that 
work. 


* At the commencement of the revolution. 


89 


It is a mournful fact, and will one day be as deeply deplored 
by those who have done it, as by those against whom it has 
been done, that the standard of opposition against those men 
and their writings should be lifted in New-York : that this high- 
ly-favoured city should be made the opposing bulwark — the 
breastwork of opposition. I rejoice to think that such walls as 
men build are not high, nor their foundations deep. I have 
no fear for the ultimate success of truth ; but I fear for those who 
are opposing its progress — especially for those who are held 
in darkness by the craft and ambition of others. The chariot 
of salvation will not be impeded ; it is guided by one who can 
save and can destroy. 

It shall be the object of this Number to state to the good 
people of this city, and of the country and nation, wherever 
these presents shall come, what documents, and books , and wri- 
tings — in short, what resources may be resorted to, in order to 
discover what those sentiments are which are falsely called new 
divinity , and, very unappropriated, Hopkinsianism . To this I 
now solicit the reader’s attention. 

Jonathan Edwards, I have elsewhere said, was the great mas- 
ter spirit of his day. Perhaps no man ever evinced more ca- 
paciousness of understanding and strength of intellect than he. 
This is the opinion of very competent judges, and probably will 
not be denied. His writings are numerous, among which his 
Inquiry concerning the Will was his greatest production, and 
may be considered as forming the basis of the distinguishing 
tenets of New-England divinity, as far as it contains any dis- 
tinctive features. Of this I have spoken in the former series. 
After this, his work on Religious Affections may perhaps be 
next in point of importance. Had this been the only book he 
published, it would have rendered his name immortal. On this 
ground, explored by thousands of writers, he was often original, 
generally interesting, and always unanswerable. His History of 
Redemption, a work left immature, was sufficient to show the 
force and splendour of his talents. Various other important 
works were also published by him, which brevity forbids me to 
enumerate ; but his numerous sermons, as many of them were 
delivered in periods of religous revival, and were more bleassed 
8 * 


90 


as instrumental to that great work, if we except Whitefield’s, 
than any ever delivered in this country, are without all parallel 
among American sermons ; and for depth of thought, force of 
argument, and brilliance of imagination ; for a magestic display of 
truth, solemnity of address, and power to arrest the conscience, 
they have never been surpassed. He had the rare talent of uni- 
ting metaphysical discussion with practical and experimental 
truth ; of appealing with equal force and propriety to the un- 
derstanding and to the passions. 

The style of Edwards is plain and simple, and evinces to the 
judicious reader the progress of a gigantic mind moving through 
fields of truth careless of the artificial adjustment and fastidious 
polish of diction. That inelegancies may be discovered in his 
style, I certainly will not deny. But when those who dare ac- 
cuse him of “ verbiage” can show equal vigour of intellect, 
let them boast. When those who dare censure his preaching 
as unprofitable can show equal trophies of success, let them 
triumph. 

Far be it from me to say that Edwards was correct in all his 
sentiments, a felicity which rarely falls to the lot of a volumi- 
nous writer. Even Calvin was not correct in every thing. 
Neither do I pretend or wish to say that he agreed in every point 
with those who since his day are denominated Hopkinsians. 
"But I will say to every reader, if he will read Edwards on the Will 
— on Religious Affections — on Redemption — on God’s Last 
End in the Creation of the World — on Moral Virtue — on Revi- 
vals of Religion — and various points discussed in his sermons, he 
will have before him some books and some documents whereby 
to judge of Hopkinsian tenets. 

Samuel Hopkins, whose dreaded and execrated name is so 
often pronounced with strange horror by thousands of people 
who never read a page of his writings, so often held up to cen- 
sure and obloquy by an equal number of men who boast of 
having read his works, but are equally ignorant of what they 
contain — Samuel Hopkins wrote and published a Body of Divi- 
nity. I shall here say little of this work ; it is sold in several 
bookstores, and is in many libraries of this city. I may safely 
say, however, that it is one of the noblest bodies of divinity in 


91 


the English language ; and Iwill venture to predict that it will stan d 
as high on the the shelves of future libraries, and be regarded as a 
work of as much utility and merit, as Pictete, Ridgely, and Tur- 
retin, when the ignorant and maniacal rage against Hopkinsian- 
ism shall have subsided ; and especially when it shall have the 
good fortune to be judged by those who have read it. 

With regard to the leading sentiments of Hopkins, they do 
not differ materially from the most approved and orthodox di- 
vines, and the most eminent and standard writers since the re- 
formation. Hopkins surely did not agree with them in every 
point, nor did any two important writers, that ever wrote, agree 
in all points. Luther, Calvin, Melancthon, Beza, Zuinglius, 
Bucer, Carolstadt, all differed from each other ; nor less did Bax- 
ter, Flavel, Owen, Watts, Doddridge, &c. differ. With reverence 
be it spoken, even Mason, Ely, Romeyn, and Milldoler, do not 
agree in all points. 

Beside a body of divinity, Hopkins wrote various tracts and 
sermons, in all of which the grand and fundamental truths of 
religion are judiciously and ably handled. As a faithful minis- 
ter of Christ, a public teacher, and an elementary writer on the- 
ological and moral subjects, the American church has had few 
more useful or more distinguished men. His style is plain, un- 
ornamented, and simple ; with less strength and originality of 
conception than Edwards, his style verged nearer towards neat- 
ness and precision. In reading his pages you do not perceive 
inanity of mind carefully concealed by an elaborate texture of 
smooth and spider’s-web phrases ; nor an eternal and dead level 
of common places solemnly trimmed with insipid pomp, and 
the soporific monotony of easy periods, rounded as regularly 
as a thousand rolls of gingerbread. He wrote like a man of 
sense, who dared to think for himself, like a man of thought, who 
was master of his subject ; like a man of piety, who regarded 
the truth ; and if sometimes he justifies the suspicion of affect- 
ing to trace new paths, to launch into new speculations, show 
me the writer of eminence who is not more or less susceptible 
of that kind of ambition, or whose powers of mind rendered 
similar endeavours more successful, and, of course, more war- 
rantable. 


92 


After Edwards and Hopkins, Bellamy may next be noticed 
as a writer of the same order, or school, if you please. His 
principal work is True Religion Delineated. Though this 
book is doubtless not received as a piece of divine inspiration, 
yet it is considered by many as a standard work : and such it 
ought to be, and will be considered, where true religion is un- 
derstood, and where the reign of prejudice is not completely 
established. After this, his Dialogues on Theron and Aspasio, 
and The Glory of the Gospel, are works of high and distin- 
guished merit. 

Beside these, Bellamy published various tracts and sermons, 
much in the same strain of sentiment ; and though certainly not 
to be admired as models of style and composition, they are on 
a level with the 'writings of the most pious and orthodox di- 
vines. Few ministers of the gospel were more able, faithful', 
or successful, in the day in which he lived, or since his time ; or 
more honoured by Christ as the visible instrument of turning 
many to righteousness. 

Dr. Jonathan Edwards, the son of the President, who was 
himself also President of Union College, did honour to his coun- 
try ; and if it was not to be expected that one nation should 
produce more than one man equal to his father ; if it was impos- 
sible for him to raise, yet he sustained the name, by the vigour 
and acuteness of his literary productions. What he seemed to 
want in greatness and extent of understanding he made up by 
sagacity of judgment and acuteness of reasoning ; and I shall 
scarcely be contradicted when I say, that in penetration and 
force of intellect he has rarely been surpassed. 

His publications on ihe Atonement, and against Dr. Chaun- 
cy, have afforded to his adversaries the most unpleasant speci- 
mens and proofs of his reasoning powers. 

Edwards, Hopkins, and Bellamy, have long since retired from 
their stations in the church militant, and, I trust, are now reap- 
ing the fruits of their labours in the mansions of joy and rest, 
together with many souls, the seals of their ministry on earth. 
And it is matter of consolation, to reflect that the idle clamours 
and reproaches which envy, pride, and ambition, are incessant- 
ly venting against these men and their doctrine, cannot pollute 


93 


the air, nor disturb the repose of those peaceful mansions. And 
if their persecutors and opposers would, for once, institute a just 
comparison between the tokens of divine approbation bestowed 
on the labours of these men, and on their own, it would give a 
chill to their ambition — would rebuke their pride, and change 
the voice of vituperation into confession and self-reproach. 

Beside the writings of these men already enumerated, there 
are many writers of the same class now living, which circum- 
stance ought, perhaps, rather to impose silence. 

Their theological magazines, religious tracts, and periodical 
publications, the work of associations of ministers of that de- 
scription, in which all their sentiments are abundantly disclosed, 
are immensely numerous. Sermons, however, form the princi- 
pal department of their writings ; and although it cannot be de- 
nied that they have published sermons which in point of execu- 
tion are but ordinary, and perhaps sometimes incorrect in senti- 
ment, yet they have also published sermons which, in defiance, 
of the overwhelming charge of “ verbiage, tautology, and non- 
sense,” will assume and maintain their station in the first class 
of that order of composition. 

If Emmons has been charged with some peculiarities of sen- 
timent, it should be remembered that those peculiarities are not 
chargeable on him as a Hopkinsian, but as a writer. I say this 
for the man of sense and candour who may read these pages. 
As for the bigot, blind with prejudice, and mad with intolerance, 
and who, like the countryman in Boston, would be liable to 
mistake the stuffed skin of a quadruped for the charter of Mas- 
sachusetts, I leave him to hug his prejudices. Any peculiar 
notions entertained by Emmons, are no more chargeable to 
Hopkinsianism, than the peculiar notions and reveries of Stub- 
ner, or Blandrata, were chargeable to the doctrines of the Re- 
formation. Stubner was among the reformers, and so is Em- 
mons among the Hopkinsians. 

I shall not pronounce on the peculiar opinions of Emmons. 
Whether they are correct or not, I leave to the decisions of 
that day which shall rectify every error, and bring truth to light. 
But they are surely not of a nature which ought to interfere 
with Christian fellowship and communion. But Emmons, re- 


94 


garded as a sermonizer, is surpassed by few writers of that 
class, either living or dead ; and few sermons, considered in all 
respects, are superior to his. His subjects, generally important, 
are judiciously selected, and skilfully raised out of an appro- 
priate text. His sermons are read with ease and pleasure : 
with pleasure, because his object is perfectly obvious, his con- 
ceptions clear, and his arrangement natural and luminous ; and 
with ease, because short, and always rapidly progressing. 

“ Semper festinat ad eventam.” 

Emmons is an original of the noblest class, and certainly one 
of the most decided character. No candid reader, who reads 
for instruction, is disappointed, or rises from the perusal of one 
of his sermons without some benefit. His sermons generally 
indicate extensive knowledge and acuteness of judgment. His 
style is neat, appropriate, pure, and correct, though less elegant 
and splendid than that of Hall, and less easy and graceful, per- 
haps, than that of Jay. In fervency and pathos, we may have 
some in our own country who excel him ; and his sermons are, 
perhaps, too didactic — too much the essay, and not sufficiently 
the popular address, to answer, in the best manner, all the ends 
of preaching. With less of the flowers of May, or fruits of Octo- 
ber, than some others, his sermons may be compared to the 
meridian hour of a clear day in June, when the sun puts forth 
his strength, the summer displays her maturity, and vegetation 
all her energy. I say nothing of any uncommon turn to a pas- 
sage of scripture he may give — of any new distinction, or mo- 
dification, in a point of speculation ; for we live in a day when 
disputes between Monothelites and Monophisites, Realists and 
Nominalists, no longer terminate on the rack or gibbet ; when 
wars between Troglodytes and Brobdinagoreans no more lay 
waste cities ; nor are * the differences of Bigendians and Littlem- 
dians to be considered as heresies. 

The reader of Emmons’ Sermons is like one passing over 
an extensive and well-cultivated farm ; the fences are substan- 
tial and erect ; the fields are verdant, square, and regular, not 
Triangular ; the meadows are separated from the woodlands* 


95 


and the pastures from the tillage : the mansion-house is not 
lofty, but neat and spacious, and speaks itself the seat of wealth, 
but not of dissipation — of happiness, but not of ambition. The 
prospects are diversified with hills and valleys, and enriched with 
springs and rivulets. 

The audiences who heard Emmons have heard more truth, 
and are better instructed, waving all peculiar and discrimi- 
nating points, than those who heard Davies, or Weatherspoon ; 
and trusting that time will cure prejudices, and assured that sel- 
fishness will soon yield the ground to a benevolence purely dis- 
interested, I frankly declare, that I would as lieve be thought the 
writer of the sermons of Emmons, as of Watts or Baxter, Hall 
or Fuller, Sherlock or Tillotson, Saurin or Claude, Bossuet or 
Bourdaloue. 

After the critic has screwed up his nose, scowled, hissed, 
snuffed, tossed, and pronounced a few such phrases as “ igno- 
rance ! — no taste ! — impudence !” and the like ; I would request 
him to read a sermon of Davies, of Saurin, of Baxter, of 
Sherlock, of Massilon, and of Emmons ; and then ask himself 
which of them conveys the most important truth, with fewest 
words, most simplicity and force, least affectation and labour, 
and greatest clearness. I must caution him, however, to break 
fairly through the blinding halo that surrounds great names ; to 
be on his guard against the splendour of the great assemblies of 
London and Paris, where nobles and monarchs worship ; to for- 
tify his auditory nevres against the titillation of pompous phrases, 
and majestic circumlocution, -which add little to the force, beau- 
ty, or impression of truth. A sermon is not the greater, be- 
cause a monarch heard it, nor the better, because he admired it. 

A sermon is, or ought to be, a portion of the gospel of Christ 
adapted to the attention of a public audience : its style and man- 
ner may be compared to the vessels on which a public feast is 
served up. Important truth is the food itself. Now, the service 
of dishes may be of gold, silver, porcelain, or common earthen 
ware, pewter, or even wood. Some forty years ago, when the 
good people of this country used to eat on wooden trenchers, 
even a pewter service was thought quite splendid and luxuri- 
ous. Emmons treats his audience in a handsome service of 


96 


silver ; and if there are those who can go as high as gold, en- 
riched with diamonds, I am glad. Let it be remembered, how- 
ever, that very indifferent food may be served up in gold, and 
many a deadly draught has lurked in a golden goblet. 

The pious and venerable West, “ whose praise is in all the 
churches” where he is known, and whose full value cannot be 
known, but by personal acquaintance, now more than eighty 
years of age, is still discharging the duties of the sacred office. 
Three times has his congregation heard him pass through the 
New Testament, expounding verse by verse the sacred oracles ; 
illustrating and enforcing them with a propriety, acuteness, and 
vigour, of which this country has seen no parallel : nor has any 
minister of the present day a happier talent in that most useful 
branch of public instruction, or is “ mightier in the scriptures.” 
Dr. West’s publications have not been numerous ; but what few 
things he published, will be sufficient to perpetuate his name 
with honour. His treatises on moral agency, and on the atone- 
ment, will best show their force in an attempt to answer them. 
With that inattention to the ornaments of style characteristic of 
his early time, he evinced great vigour of thought, and justness 
of reasoning. 

Christ has honoured this worthy man in an extraordinary man- 
ner : for the space, I believe, of sixty years, in which he has 
discharged without a stain, the work of the ministry, he has 
from time to time seen the work of God carried on amongst his 
people ; and very many souls have been given him as seals of 
his ministry, who will be stars in the crown of his rejoicing in 
the day of the Lord. 

Though I would willingly dispense with mentioning the names 
of persons living, from delicacy to their feelings, yet that si- 
lence, any further than is imposed by brevity, cannot comport 
with the design of this enumeration, which is to show how re- 
mote from candour and truth are those reflections and sneers, 
which deny to New.England the name of writer or theologian. 
And I feel it my duty to ask many young men of education and 
talents, but recently from that quarter, who have established 
shemselves in this city in the various branches of business ; I 


97 

ask them, whether it gives them pleasure to hear such reflec- 
tions, 


“ Tossed in the jest from wind to wind ?” 

I ask them, whether they have become so triangular — so sealed 
with prejudice, as really to believe, there are no writers there ? 

They peradventure may have heard of the name of Dwight, 
the maternal grandson of the great Edwards ; perhaps they may 
have been educated under his eye and instruction, and, if so, 
they have heard his course of theological lectures : shall I be- 
lieve, that since they have come within the radiance of superior 
luminaries, that they are truly converted to the belief, that there 
is nothing in Neiv-England — that all there is “ verbiage, tau- 
tology, and nonsense” — “ no books, no documents, no writ- 
ings ?” Some of them I know to be sons of New-England cler- 
gymen of eminence and distinction. But here, alas ! they have 
learned the humiliating fact, that their fathers knew nothing, 
and were nothing ; or, if any thing, in comparison as a glow- 
worm to a star. They are, perhaps, almost ready to wrangle 
with their fate, and wish that Bamfylde Carew had been their 
f ather. 

Take courage, young men, and hold up your heads ; though 
a New-England clergyman claim you, dare to own your parent- 
age, dare to think yourselves educated, though educated by a 
Dwight. This language may seem enigmatical to persons at a 
distance : here it will be well understood, and will, I trust, pro- 
duce a salutary effect. For I do firmly believe that so great a 
perversion of truth, so unaccountable a concealment of fact, 
never was practised or achieved under circumstances so extra- 
ordinary, in any other place on the globe. And whatever the 
reader may think, he may rest assured that we have before us 
the true ground of the controversy with New-England. I there- 
fore said in the former series, that it all arose from ambition and 
envy. Our adversaries seem not to be aware that there is a 
great distinction between commerce and theology ; nor yet is 
New-England altogether ignorant of commerce. 

The man whose name has been mentioned would be an ho- 
9 


98 


nour to any state or nation. An example so bright, a pattern so 
illustrious, will long be remembered by hundreds who have felt 
its powerful influence ; will long flourish in the talents he has 
elicited and matured ; will long be celebrated by the genius he 
has fostered. Dr. Dwight, for general erudition and correct 
taste, for powerful talents and uncorrupted integrity, is surpass- 
ed by no man in our country. Though he may have less starch 
in his composition than Dr. Buckram ; though he may be less 
susceptible to the courtier’s gentle touch than Dr. Weathercock; 
for he is not a man that says one thing and does another ; yet 
he is, “ take him for all in all,” as great as the Great Gun himself. 

The sermons, and other productions of his pen, are brilliant 
specimens of a great and vigorous intellect, and not unworthy 
of a descendant of Edwards. 

Since the writings of New-England are accused of consist- 
ing of nothing but “ verbiage, tautology, and nonsense,” I will 
mention one writer, at least, whose sermons, if the reader may 
give himself the trouble to examine, I can assure him he will 
acquit of this heavy charge. Smalley’s Sermons are able and 
handsome specimens of clear and conclusive reasoning ; they 
abound little in bold assertions, and his deductions are made with 
caution and correctness. Nothing but the prejudice of the day 
withholds from those sermons the high reputation due to solid 
reasoning, and an able and masterly display of important truth. 
Warburt on reasoned with more erudition, and Sherlock certain- 
ly with many more adventitious advantages, but I request the 
“ Great Gun” himself to lay a sermon of Smalley side by side 
with one of Sherlock’s, or of Tillotson’s, or of his own, if he 
pleases ; compare them by paragraphs, and I put him upon his 
honour, as a gentleman, where I am happy to say I do not scru- 
ple him, though I do much as a metaphysician, to say which of 
them resembles most the progress of Euclid through his 47th. 

There i3 scarcely a writer who carries more of demonstration 
through every successive period ; nor would there be a better 
test of this, than would result from an attempt to show where 
his argument fails. 

Doctor S. Spring’s “ Moral Disquisitions,” at the very sound 
of which some nervous people, I suppose, will fall into the moral- 


99 


phobia, is the last thing I shall mention. This small book, 
if read with attention and candour, will not fail to carry convic- 
tion to the mind : it dwells on those grand points in which New- 
England divinity is made the subject of censure. But its fate 
has been to be condemned by those who have not read it. 

There are many writings and publications, the productions of 
a much younger class of men, which, while they exhibit hand- 
some specimens of classical excellence, maintain and fully illus- 
trate the same strain of sentiment and doctrine ; but brevity 
forbids their enumeration. New-England, in a space of two 
hundred and fifty miles square, has, in fact, produced more ser- 
mons, essays, religious tracts, and theological publications, and 
those which are respectable and important in their kind, than 
ail the rest of America. Nor is there a people on earth, whose 
religious tenets are better known, or more ably defended. Yet, 
we are solemnly assured by an Anti-Hopkinsian sectarian, that 
there are no looks , documents , &c., by which their principles 
can be known. 

The truth is, there is no such sect of people on earth as 
Hopkinsians , and I would to God there had never been such 
an appellation known among Christians as Calvinists ; especial- 
ly, without they had adopted the name of a more lovely and 
Christ like man. This rage for nick-naming sects and exalting 
the opinions and authorities of men, is but a younger shoot of 
the grand apostacy. 

The books and writings I have mentioned in the very imper- 
fect sketch above, are not censured or exploded, on account 
of their faults, regarded as literary productions ; far from it : 
that is the least of all the fears of their adversaries. On the 
contrary, the known conviction they carry with them, the 
force of native genius they evince, and the spirit of piety they 
breathe, is what renders them so much dreaded, and is the real 
clue to the motive of those unwearied endeavours to keep them 
out of sight, and to hiss them into silence. 

Perhaps I ought not to close so copious an account of writers, 
without saying something about the Investigator. It was a rule 
with the Spectator, that, so long as he was unknown, he might 
say what he pleased of himself ; might even applaud his own 


100 


writings at pleasure ; and he often did it, I see no reason why 
I have not the same right ; and perhaps it is even more neces- 
sary for me to do it, than it was for him : however as to that, I 
shall do as I please. In the mean time, I shall say a few things. 

In the first place, they may say many unpleasant things, but 
they cannot say I am not a writer. As a proof that I can write, 
here is the triangle. It has been written, and it will be read, it 
will spread wide, and will be remembered. In the second place, 
this thing has not been excited merely as an attack on error ; 
it is offered to the public as a detergent to an intolerant, bigot- 
ed, and persecuting spirit ; as a diluent to the moral buckram 
with which some minds are most dreadfully encased ; as a re- 
frigerent to the calenture of ambition ; as an emulgent to a self- 
ish heart ; as a sudorific to the sedative frigidity of hatred ; as 
a tonic to the atony of general benevolence ; as a laxative to the 
gripe of spiritual pride : in fact, as a universal nostrum against 
meddling with those who are disposed to think for themselves. 
And, from concurrent prognostics, I think it must produce a 
good effect. 

In the last place, the Investigator is a physiognomist ; gives 
lectures on heads, and can draw portraits. No portrait has yet 
appeared, though I perceive some rough etchings in the former 
series have been readily claimed. One thing I engage, if I 
hereafter draw a portrait, the true Bucephalus will instantly, as 
of old, neigh at his own likeness. 

INVESTIGATOR. 



No. II. 


I said, in a former number, that attemps had been made to 
excite an odium against Hopkinsianism. To many, no doubt, 
this appears an unjust accusation. But however # it may appear, 
it is true,, and can be fully vindicated. They say that Hopkin- 
sians hold that a Christian ought to be willing to be damned. 
The most that Hopkinsians contend for is, that there may be a 


101 


time when a Christian may feel in his heart to acquiesce in the 
justice of God , even though God should cast him off for ever. Let 
us examine this point. 

The clamors on this subject are too absurd and ridiculous 
to be heard with patience. I said perhaps enough in a former 
number ; but I will here repeat, that the Hopkinsians hold no 
more, relative to this matter, than must be admitted by all who 
believe in divine providence. 

Their teachers are in the habit of insisting much on the doc- 
tine of submission to the divine will ; which, I hope, will not 
be considered as an error. They hold, that all rational crea- 
tures ought to feel perfect resignation to the will of God. But 
resignation implies holiness, and God has manifested it to be 
his will, that holy creatures should be happy. A holy creature, 
therefore, is not required to be willing to be damned, because 
it is not God’s will that he should be damned. They dwell 
much on this point, that every real Christian entertains a strong 
sense of his own desert, and of the justice of God, in his condem- 
nation, as a sinner ; and they believe that a Christian may be 
rightly disposed towards God, i. e. may love him supremely be- 
fore he has any evidence that God will save him. In this case, 
therefore, the converted sinner sees, and fully acquiesces in, the 
justice of God : nay, is often heard to say, “ I feel that God 
would be just in my condemnation ; I feel and know that I de- 
serve his wrath ; and I see clearly the beauty and the glory of his 
justice, as well as of his mercy.” 

The elements, and every point in this whole business, are now 
before the reader, and may be reduced to a set of definite pro- 
positions, which, for the sake of perspicuity, I will here set 
down. 

1. Every rational creature ought to feel perfect resignation 
to the will of God. Will any one deny this ? 

2. Perfect resignation to God’s will implies holiness, i. e. love 
to God. 

3. It is the will of God that creatures who love him shall not 
be miserable. This will not be denied. 

4. Every good man has a strong sense of the justice of God 

9 * 


102 


in his condemnation as a sinner, for without this he would 
have no idea of grace in his salvation. This cannot be denied. 

The promise of God to save a believer, by grace, cannot 
diminish that believer’s sense of his own desert. Even pardon 
clearly implies the justice of punishment, or else there can be 
no grace in pardon. 

5. The Christian may -feel rightly disposed towards God and 
his government, that is, may love God, before he has an evi- 
dence that God will save him. This is out of the triangle , and 
will be denied. But I beg the reader, as he values the truth, 
to attend with candor to this point. It may affect his own re- 
ligion and hopes more than he is aware of. This proposition 
is denied, because it militates against the grand fortress and 
strong hold of what I call selfishness. 

I justify the proposition by the following reasons : 

1. The real Christian may judge incorrectly of his own ex- 
ercises and feelings. They may be of the right kind, without 
his having any degree of confidence in them. Thus I have no 
doubt it happens, that many a converted soul does not come to 
a due estimate of his exercises towards God, for hours, nay, 
days and months after his conversion. He has the feelings of 
a child, but no confidence in those feelings. It is a very rare 
thing that a renewed sinner is able to say, “ This is faith — this 
is love — this is holiness — I am boin again,” immediately, the 
first moment after his regeneration. When I see a Christian 
come forward in that manner, I am doubtful, and have reason 
to fear he is deluded. Nor will he be very ready to give in to 
the opinion of any one who may officiously tell him, he is a 
renewed man ; and such persons there are always at hand. He 
will perhaps say, “ I think I love God — I seem to perceive the 
glory and fulness of Christ, but the matter is too important ; I fear 
I am mistaken.” 

2. The Christian’s confidence of salvation is not the cause, 
but the effect, of his love to God. There is not a more fatal 
error in the church, and to the souls of men, than the supposi- 
tion, that the sinner begins to love God in consequence of dis- 
covering that God is going to save him. The thing itself speaks 
and shows sheer selfishness, with the broadest grin. I am 


103 


amazed that the bare suggestion should not excite alarm and 
suspicion, distrust and aversion. What says our Saviour ? “ If 
ye love them that love you, what thank have ye?” Do not 
even sinners love those that love them ? Such a kind of love 
is no sign of grace. That which I feel towards God, when I 
see that he will save me, is gratitude. Nothing can be more 
certain than that all the wicked on earth, and that ail the devils . 
in hell, could they discover that God was going to make them 
eternally happy, would love him for it, would feel very grateful, 
would think him a very good being. Let those who trust in such 
a kind of love to God be assured, that their foundation is sand. 

3. The nature of that love, which is due to God from all 
creatures, shows, with the brightness of a sunbeam, that it is far 
above gratitude, or any [return or reflection of kindness. What 
is the ground of the most perfect and exalted friendship among 
men ? Is it a mere requital of kindness, a reflection of inter- 
est ? Does it rest on the narrow ground of reciprocal benefits ? 
Is it not grounded on the high and estimable qualities which 
two persons may discover in each other ? What if General Wash- 
ington had reprieved a criminal from death, or paid his ransom, 
would that criminal perceive in that generous act the highest and 
utmost ground of respect ? Robespierre or Cataline, might have 
done him the same kindness. In truth, all that God has done for 
one sinner bears no more proportion to the grounds of regard dis- 
coverable in his nature and character, than a single grain of sand 
bears to the universe. Hence, 

4. Love to God is not the effect or consequence of faith ; it 
is coeval with it, nay, it is in, and belongs to the nature of 
faith. Faith without love is good for nothing — is dead— is no 
better than the faith of devils. As there can be no holiness in 
the heart previous to love, and as nothing can be acceptable to 
God without holiness, we may rest assured that holiness is not 
only a concomitant, but a constituent of faith. 

It may further be observed, that consequent on regeneration 
there can be no earlier exercise of heart than love to God ; and, 

I leave it to the accute and able theologian to say, whether he 
can perceive any thing in regeneration itself, but a change of 
heart from hatred to the love of God. But by love, here, I 


104 


mean not only the effect, but the cause ; not only the exercise, 
but the agency by which it is produced, that is, “ the love of 
God shed abroad in the heart, by the Holy Ghost.” “ For he 
that dvvelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.” 

I have, I trust, shown, that love to God is not the effect of 
faith. The arguments might indeed have been amplified, but 
that I deem unnecessary, till I shall see stronger reasons brought 
against them. And, if the love of God be considered objec- 
tively, it will be seen, that it cannot arise from a conviction that 
God is going to save the sinner. This, indeed, has been already 
stated, but the importance given to this point by the dispute be- 
fore us, renders it necessary to be more explicit. 

The unregenerate man is in a state of condemnation, of 
course, he has no evidence to believe that God will save him. If 
regeneration be an instantaneous work, which those admit with 
whom I am at issue, a moment of time does not intervene be- 
tween the last sinful exercise of the unregenerate, and the first 
holy exercise of the regenerate man, or love to God : in a mo- 
ment he finds himself loving God, and feels delight in the ex- 
ercise. The first intellectual apprehensions of the new man 
are allowed to be various, by most orthodox divines, old as 
well as new : and this must be allowed from the nature of the 
case, and is confirmed by constant experience. I seldom ever 
heard two Christians relate having had similar apprehensions, 
either in the first moments, or first hours or days, of their Chris- 
tian experience. Their first views may be supposed to take 
their complexion very much from their state of knowledge, and 
general habits of thinking. But though these cases doubtless 
embrace an endless variety, yet there is reason to believe, that 
God is the grand object of their apprehensions ; and that them- 
selves are generally, if not entirely, out of the question, and not 
thought of. 

I first mention the case of those persons who pretend to no 
recollection of the time of their conversion ; and many such 
there are who give abundant evidence of piety. Though they 
did not know it, there was a time when they were renewed by 
the Holy Ghost : no thought occurred to them, however, that 
they were born again, or were going to be saved ; so far from 


105 


it, that if any one had told them they were Christians, they 
would have spurned the idea, and would have said, “ you flatter 
and deceive me.” What may we suppose were their exercises 
during this time ? Why, at times they had clear and affecting 
views of the loveliness and glory of God, of the person and 
character of Christ, of his fulness and all-sufficiency as a Sa- 
viour ; but, then, they dare not trust to these views and feelings. 

I next mention the case of such as suppose they know the 
time of their conversion. What were their first views ? “ There 

was a God ; — he was an infinitely lovely and excellent being. 
The world was his ; — all nature was beautiful and glorious ; — 
all creatures seemed to praise him. The Bible was a new book. 
There was a Christ willing and able to save the vilest sinner. 
The gospel was free ; the fault was all in the sinner.” And I 
declare to the reader, that not one only nor two, nor ten per- 
sons have I heard say, that their view of Christ’s sufficiency 
was such, that they thought they could persuade their friends 
immediately to embrace him. 

But while the new-born Christian had these views, what of 
himself? Did it occur to him, at the very first instant, that God 
was going to save him, and, therefore, that he loved God for it ? 

Was it his very first apprehension that he should be saved ; 
and was that the cause of his joy and love ? The idea is shock- 
ing, and from my soul, I believe, is revolting to every pious 
mind ; nor do I believe there is a Christian on earth whose re- 
collection of his own experience will confirm it. I readily 
grant, the Christian’s first apprehension may be of the Saviour ; 
but then it will be of him as the son of God. “ If thou believest 
in thine heart that God has raised up Jesus Christ from the 
dead, thou shalt be saved.” “ But,” said Christ to Peter, 
“ whom do ye say that I am ?” “ Thou art the Son of God ; 
thou art the king of Israel.” “ Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona ; 
flesh and blood hath not revealed this unto thee, but my Father 
which is in heaven.” 

Christ’s person, character, and work, together, form the great 
object of faith ; the assent of the understanding, and cordial con- 
sent of the heart to it, form the exercise. But the notion of 
appropriating faith, so called, i. e. that Christ died for me, and 


106 


laying this as the ground and motive of my love to Christ, and 
prior to it, and these points, in connexion with the doctrine of 
particular atonement, make out a dead faith and selfish love to 
the Christian, and an innocent unbelief to the sinner. 

To perceive beauty, is to love. Whatever the soul’s first ap- 
prehension of God is, it is attended with a coeval perception of 
his glorious excellence and beauty. I wish the candid and in- 
genuous reader to observe that acts, in no case, are the proper 
objects of love. A series of great actions indicate a great be- 
ing ; but it is not the actions, but the actor we love. But a good 
action done to me indicates no more goodness than as though it 
were done to some other man. I ought, in fact, to love God 
as much for doing good to my neighbour as to myself ; and 
this I certainly shall do, if I “ love my neighbour as myself.” 
If this be not correct, let its error be made out. 

This brings into view an idea of what is usually termed disin - 
terested love, against which a more unreasonable clamour has 
been raised, and justified by more ridiculous shifts, and more 
groundless and shameless arguments, than are usually seen 
marshalled in the field of controversy. Be it admitted, though it 
is by no means always true, that the new-born soul’s first appre- 
hension is of Christ — his first exercise of love is towards Christ ; 
yet there is no otherwise an act of appropriation than what is 
implied in the perception, “ that the Saviour is infinitely glori- 
ous and excellent, willing, and all-sufficient to save ; the chiefest 
among ten thousand, and altogether lovely.” He looks up to 
God, and beholds him a God of love, ruling his kingdom with 
perfect goodness ; that all creatures are safe ; that all interests 
committed to him are secure. It does not, at this time, occur 
to him that he is born again, or shall be saved. His mind is 
filled with objects infinitely more glorious and majestic than 
any consideration of his own interest or salvation. And, al- 
though a great leader of the Triangular scheme has lately cau- 
tioned his hearers, from his pulpit, to be aware of that “ bq^e 
and absurd philosophy, which ought not to be dignified by the 
name of philosophy, which teaches men to leave their own hap - 


107 


piness and interest out of the question yet it is a truth which 
every Christian should know and feel, that a view of the glory 
of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ, breaking forth on 
the mind of the sinner, and especially for the first time, will 
leave him little room to think of his own dear self, or of his in- 
terest or salvation. 

Job seemed to have a great deal of that base and absurd phi- 
losophy when he said, “ I have heard of thee by the hearing of 
the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee, wherefore I abhor my- 
self, and repent in dust and ashes.” David, also, had much of 
that philosophy when he exclaimed, “ when I consider the 
heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and stars, which 
thou hast made, Lord, what is man, that thou art mindful of 
him ?” &c. 

In that solemn hour a sense of the vileness and desert of sin 
falls upon the renewed soul with the weight of mountains ; he 
is amazed at the mercy that has preserved him, and he ex- 
claims with all the feelings of his heart, and energies of his 
soul, “ God would be lovely if he should cast me off for ever.” 
How little is he inclined, at that time, or any other time, to 
seize upon some divine promise, and boldly and arrogantly 
threaten to keep Christ to his word. I use this phrase because 
it was very recently used by another Triangular, who boldly 
exhorted his Christian hearers to keep Christ to his word , i. e. 
to make him fulfil his promises. 

Alas ! whither does this strain of Antinomianism tend ? What 
havock it has already made, and what ruin it threatens ! But is 
there need to exhort mankind to be more selfish ? is there ground 
to fear that they will not interpret the bible sufficiently favoura- 
ble to their own characters and state ? Shall they be exhorted, if 
I may so say, to toe the mark, and challenge the Saviour to 
come and meet them upon his peril ? Let that great master in 
Israel be assured, that he need be under no apprehensions lest 
his hearers shall not be sufficiently alive to their own interest 
and happiness . They will do that in obedience to man’s ruling 
passion. 


* Dr. Mason. 


108 


I have dwelt long on this subject ; have gone carefully over 
that ground pointed at with so much scorn, and regarded with 
so much terror. It amounts to this ; that a man under the in- 
fluence of clear views of God and his government, and of his 
own exceeding vileness, all -which he may have without any 
certain evidence of his own good estate, may fully acquiesce in 
the justice of God— may see that God would be just in casting 
him off, and may feel as though he could love and adore God, 
if he in fact should do it. Some writers, called Hopkinsian, 
may have dwelt particularly on this point, but it is a matter 
which has no necessary connexion with Hopkinsianism — is 
found in old writers as well as new. Devils who are now 
suffering the wrath of God, are under the same obligation to 
love and adore him as the angels of light in heaven. If be- 
cause he is punishing them, they have a right to hate and 
abhor him, then they certainly do right in making war on his 
kingdom. 

The reason why such a clamour is raised against this idea is, 
because men cannot endure the thought that the glory and ho- 
nour of God should be preferred to the happiness of a wicked 
man. 

No Hopkinsian on earth ever held, or pretended, that a wil- 
lingness to be damned constitutes a habitual exercise of the 
Christian ; for it is not the will of God that a real Christian 
should be damned ; it would be revolting against God’s will, 
and every Christian knows it ; but the willingness contended 
for is restricted to those moments, while, as yet, the regenerate 
man has no certain evidence that he is a Christian, or that God 
will save him, yet still he loves God, and is, of course, willing 
that God’s will shall be done. I believe I am understood, and 
if so, I have only to say, that on this ground, the Hopkinsian is 
willing to be at issue with his adversary. 

If it be admitted that a man can love God before he has 
evidence that God will save him, the point is settled ; that he 
ought so to do, nay, that those ought so to do who know he 
never will save them, few will dare to deny : and this, I think, 
to the discerning mind, shows what the proper motive of lov e 
to God is. Saints and angels do, in fact, love God for the 
same reason for which wicked men and devils are bound to 


109 

love him, viz. because he is infinitely excellent and worthy to 
be loved. 

Whether a Christian can feel willing to be an enemy to God 
for ever, has no connexion with this entire discussion, since the 
willingness to suflfer, of which I have been speaking, relates 
wholly to the penalty of God’s law, and not to a transgression 
of it. The breath and words, therefore, spent on- that idea are 
wholly wasted, and the terrible blows often given to it, are 
dealt out to a shadow. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. III. 


A CONTRAST. 


1. Men are condemned for 
the sin of Adam. 

2. Men have a natural or 
physical incapacity to obey 
God. 

3. Christ made atonement, 
or propitiation, for none but 
the elect. 

4. The gospel invites none 
but the elect to come to Christ. 

5. None but the elect are 
under obligation to believe in 
Christ. 

6. The elect are not bound 
to believe in Christ till he 
shows them that he will save 
them. 


1. Men are condemned for 
their own transgressions. 

2. Men have no inability to 
obey God but what arises from 
want of inclination, or will. 

3. Christ made atonement, 
or propitiation, for all man- 
kind. 

4. The gospel invites all 
mankind to come to Christ. 

5. All who hear the gospel 
are under obligation to believe 
in Christ. 

6. Every sinner who hears 
the gospel is bound to believe 

as much at one time as an- 
other. 


10 


110 


Hence, Hence, 

7. No man will be condemn- 7. All who hear the gos- 
ed at last for unbelief, because pel and do not believe, will 
the elect will all believe — be condemned for their unbe- 
lief— 

For, For, 

8. Faith consists in believ- 8. Faith consists in “ receiv- 
ing that Christ died for me. ing and resting on Christ alone 

for salvation, as he is offered 
in the gospel.” 

Hence, Hence, 

9. Those for whom Christ 9. As Christ died for all men, 

did not die, cannot believe he any sinner who hears the gos- 
died for them, unless they can pel can receive and rest on 
believe what is not true ; there- him alone for salvation ; there- 
fore, they cannot be condemn- fore, any unbeliever will be con- 
ed for unbelief. demned. 

Moreover, Moreover, 

10. Faith is neither an exer- 10. Faith is an exercise both 
cise of the will nor understand- of the will and understanding, 
ing, but a divine principle. and a divine principle'll a phrase 

without an idea. 

11. The Christian begins to 11. The Christian begins, to 
love Christ when he finds love Christ before he knows he 
Christ will save him, and that will save him, and loves him for 
is the true motive of his love, other and higher reasons. 

Wherefore, Wherefore, 

12. Saving faith is before, 12. Saving faith is love in 
and, of course, without love to its very nature, and is a holy 
God, or holiness, unless holi- exercise, because love is holi- 
ness be different from love. ness. 

13. A Christian cannot be 13. A shameless and barefac- 
disinterested — the interest of ed confession, as unworthy of a 
self must be at the bottom, and philosopher as a Christian ! 

the moving spring of all his 
actions — even of his religion. 

Reader, here is a contrast to the purpose ; read it, and be as- 
tonished ; and, I think, you cannot but be astonished. O wretch- 
ed man that I am ! who shall deliver me from this body of 
selfish Antinomianism ? 


Ill 


When I had got thus far, sickened with the odious narrowness, 
the grovelling sefilshness of this triangular place, I dropped my 
pen and retired to rest. “ In the thoughts and visions of my 
head upon my bed,” I fancied myself travelling alone, through 
an extensive and desolate oountry ; it was towards night, and 
being on foot, I seemed weary with the labours of a long day’s 
travel ; I began to look out for a house of entertainment, but 
could discern little save now and then a hamlet of unpromising 
aspect, and at a distance from the road. At length, however, 
a fabric, of extraordinary appearance, drew my attention, and, 
as I approached, a signal, near the gate, gave me the agreeable 
notice that it was a public house. This building was perfectly 
triangular, resembling an obtuse prismatic cone, cut perpendi- 
cular to its principal axis, standing on its base, rising to a great 
elevation, and terminated in a spire. It was very pleasantly 
situated on the point of junction between two large streams of 
water, and appeared like a place of great traffick. 

I perceived much company in the house, and, on entering, a 
man immediately presented himself whom I concluded to be 
the landlord. His body was exceedingly corpulent and large, 
with a little three-square head, and eyes very sharp and 
twinkling, which seemed “ to look at one another.”* How- 
ever, he received me with a smile, and on asking for en- 
tertainment be assented, and told me that in his house I would 
find accommodations. The company were all strangers to me ; 
nor did I ever see so many cross-eyed people together before. 
I took a seat by myself, and waited, with some impatience, for 
supper. But my curiosity and astonishment were equally ex- 
cited to perceive, that not only the house itself, but every thing 
in it, was in a triangular shape ; the doors and windows, the 
rooms and fireplaces, all exhibited that form. The chairs and 
tables were tripods — the plates and platters, triangular con- 
caves, and the glasses and tumblers, hollow prisms ; but every 
thing elegant in its kind, and highly finished. 

At length supper was announced, and I took a seat at a three- 
cornered table, with a numerous company, who seemed as well 


* Genius theolagice, NoviEbori. 


112 


pleased as myself at the sight of something edible. We com- 
menced with little ceremony, and happening to sit near the 
master of the house, I attempted some conversation with him. 
He was affable, communicative, and sententious, as tavern 
keepers usually are. The provision, of which there were three 
courses, appeared well, but had, I thought, somewhat of a pe- 
culiar taste. I called for pepper, and for salt, but still it did 
not do ; and, I believe, the landlord himself perceived that my 
taste was not well suited. At length he said, “ give me leave, sir, 
to help you to a relish which I think you will like, for I have 
never had one at my table who did not admire it.” 

“This, sir,” continued he, “ is, perhaps, the most famous 
root in the world ; its botanical name is amor sui ; it is a very 
fine root for the table, and is beginning to be cultivated in these 
parts, particularly in two large botanic gardens , whence it is 
sent all over the country, and they find it very profitable.” 
And perceiving he had some knowledge in botany, while he 
was putting some of it on my plate, I asked him if he knew 
to which of the Linnaen classes it belonged. He said, he be- 
lieved it was to the Pantandria. Whilst I was recollecting 
whether Linnaeus had such a class, he said, smiling, “ the name 
of this root sounds better in Latin than in English ; it would 
hardly do to give it a translation.” 

I perceived they ate of it, round the table, by spoonfuls ; 
and the landlord said, for his part, he could, at any time, make 
a meal of it ; in fact, wanted nothing else. 

For the first moment, I thought the taste of the amor sui 
very agreeable. It had a racy and aromatic gusto, highly 
grateful to the palate ; but, after a while, it began to bite my 
tongue, burn my lips, draw up my mouth, contract my (esopha- 
gus ; and, in short, the more I tasted it the worse it was. It 
put me in mind of Allen’s attempt to eat the olive. A gentle- 
man, near me, seeing my embarrassment, observed that, like 
most high flavoured things, at first, it seamed rather pungent 
and harsh ; “ but,” said he, “ sir, I have no doubt you will soon 
be fond of it.” A sour looking robust fellow, whose eyes were 
almost wrong side outwards, declared it was now used at every 
genteel table, and he never saw a gentleman but what liked it. 


113 


<» Why,” said he, “ in Scotland, my native country, some call 
it the ministerial root, because so very convenient to cultivate 
on their glebes ; it succeeds well on lands which will produce 
nothing else, and will, in this country, soon be thought more 
valuable than the potato ; and a man that does not like it must 
be a fool.” He further added, that he had recommended it, 
with great success, in this country ; that he, and several others, 
were determined to bring it into general cultivation and use. 

In a region in all respects so perfectly .trigonal, the effect was 
wonderful. I could not repress my curiosity, and I feared I 
should give offence by appearing to inspect the various little ar- 
ticles which lay about my plate, not to say that a three-square 
spoon did not very well suit my mouth. As the landlord seem- 
ed willing to converse, I at last summoned sufficient confidence 
to inform him, that my curiosity and admiration had been not 
a little excited at the very singular form of his house and fur- 
niture ; and I hoped he would not think me impertinent, in wish- 
ing to know the motive for adopting this figure. 

After a little pause, with a serious look, he replied, that I 
was right in wishing an explanation, and that no offence would 
be taken. 

“ This mode of building, sir,” said he, “ I have received from 
my ancestors, as they did from their’s ; and you must know it 
is the true primitive form. Our first and grandest maxim is, 
never to admit of innovation. This maxim is founded in the 
fact, that although a little good may come, yet a world of evil 
does actually come from innovations. Why sir,” continued he, 
with increasing earnestness, “ all the bad practices in the] whole 
world are but innovations. Satan was the first innovator, and 
his first innovation was made in heaven itself. Then, our mo- 
ther Eve made a sad innovation on the tree of knowledge, and 
drew Adam, our father, into it. All human knowledge, sir, 
is but innovation upon man’s primitive state, which was pure 
ignorance ; and ‘ ignorance is the mother of devotion.’ 

“ With regard to this house, sir, it is of the true original, un- 
corrupted Tuscan order. Three posts were first set on the 
ground, and their tops fastened together : some say four , but, 
sir, I say three , which I can demonstrate from the composition 
*10 


114 


and resolution of forces ; besides, three is the simplest form, and 
three denotes union, strength, and perfection ; it is a mysteri- 
ous number, as every body knows. When four-square build- 
ings came in fashion, this primitive form was forced to flee into 
the wilderness, just as the true church did, when the great 
whore of Babylon usurped her place ; and they will remain 
there, and emerge together.” He paused here, and waited for my 
reply. 

I told the landlord, he had satisfied me with the account he 
had given of his house. He acknowledged, that there were 
some inconveniences attending this figure of things ; but, then, 
he said, that the beauty and charm of uniformity carried every 
thing before it ; and, for his part, his object was to have but one 
standard : every thing must be alike. “ But sir,’’ said he, “ we 
carry this point farther than you imagine ; for soon after our 
children are born, we have a triangular box, or hat, if you 
please, made for their heads, which they wear till the head 
grows in the box into the shape we wish ; and, as they grow larger, 
we enlarge those helmets according to their years, till at length 
the head becomes settled in the shape you see mine, which 
form we consider as highly favourable to acuteness of intel- 
lect. I then noticed, that the os frontis and os occipitis of his 
head formed the upper angles, and his chin the lower ; so that 
the top of the head formed the base, and the chin the apex. In 
the course of the evening, I had opportunity to see that all his 
numerous children had heads of the same form as their father :* 
indeed, Lavater admits, that straight lines in the skull indicate 
strength and decision. 

I perceived that this innkeeper was a mystic, had studied in 
the occult sciences, and was even acquainted with the cabalistic 
doctrines. “ Sir,” said he, 4t the form of all things about me, 
is founded in much deeper reasons than you probably imagine. 
You know, doubtless, that infinite perfection can only subsist 
in a triune being. Among intellectual creatures, there are but 
three grand orders, angels, men, and devils : there are, in all 
existence, but three kinds, spirit, matter, and mixed. The 

* “ What do the old divines say about it ?” 


115 


heavenly regious are divided into three provinces, the first, se- 
cond, and third heavens : duration has three modifications, pre- 
sent, past, and future. Adam’s race are all in one of three 
habitations, earth, heaven, or hell ; every man has three im- 
portant states, in the body, out of the body, and again in the 
resurrection state. Every solid substance in nature has three 
dimensions, length, breadth, and height. But,” continued he, 
“ to come near to the point, you must be one side of a line, on 
the other side, or else exactly on it ; and, as for the properties 
of the triangle, philosophers, from the days of Euclid, and long 
before, until now, have never been able to explore them. By the 
triangle, the mariner guides his ship across the ocean, the surveyor 
measures the earth, and the astronomer the heavens. In a word, 
I take the triangle to be the symbol of strength, wisdom, and 
perfection ; and I am strongly inclined to believe, that the soul of 
man is a perfect spiritual triangle.” 

Perceiving his enthusiasm, equal to that of Dr. Primrose for 
monogamy, or Don Quixote for chivalry, I nodded assent to his 
arguments, and presently desired I might be shown my lodg- 
ings. The landlord here informed me, that his beds, which were 
numerous, were all pre-occupied ; and, unless I could accept 
of a fellow lodger, he could make no arrangement that would 
be convenient. In fact, he said, his usual custom was to put 
three in each bed, corresponding to the three sides of the tri- 
angle ; when, in order to avoid mixing head and feet, each one 
must bend himself into the true figure. I assented, however, 
to take one, and a gentlemen present ascended with me to the 
chamber, of which, I understood, there were about 20 or 30 in 
the house. But here, a difficulty arose : the bed was a perfect 
triangle, and so scanty, that even the sides of it were not as 
long as its intended occupants ; however, each of us took an 
angle for our heads, and let our feet contend in the remaining 
angle ; and they were antipodes, with a witness. A query 
arose, whether these were not the beds spoken of in scripture, 
where it says, “ their bed is shorter than that one may stretch 
himself upon it, and their covering narrower than that he can 
wrap himself therein.” 

My fellow lodger told me that the landlord was invincible in 


116 


this whim, that he would have every bed in his house of the 
same size and shape ; that it happened, not long since, that some 
gentlemen travelling, who had portable bedsteads with ihem of 
the usual form, had put up there, and, for their own convenience, 
had erected and prepared their own beds. The landlord, find- 
ing it out, went up to their chamber in a rage, and by the aid 
of his servants, drew them out of bed, threw their furniture out 
of the window, and expelled them from his house.* 

Our situation was such as promised little comfort ; but being 
weary, I soon fell asleep, and had the following very extraor- 
dinary dream, which may be called a dream two stories high, 
or Somnium in Somnio. 

I fancied myself in a region of great darkness, saving what 
dubious light arose from distant fires, whose pale and curling 
flames immediately brought to my mind the Tartarian lake. 
Before I could look round me a second time, a peal of thunder 
shook all the region, and a glare of light showed me thousands 
of beings seated round a vast amphitheatre facing a central 
throne. The lofty arches of Pandamonium, sustained on pillars 
of gold and illuminated by coruscations of flame, from the 
burning lake, resembled a structure of solid fire. The perpe- 
tual noise of distant thunders and tempests, which shook the 
fabric, prevented my hearing the debates and consultations. 
At length, however, a voice more shrill than the loudest 
trumpet reached my ear. “ Repair to your stations, and 
discharge your duties, or the city is lost to my kingdom. 
Show yourselves worthy of your prince, and, since it is the will 
of fate that you contend against a superior foe, acquire fame by 
boldness and perseverance. Address yourselves to every indi- 
vidual, and yield to nothing but almighty power. Be off, and 
let us see 


What reinforcement we can gain from hope 
If not, what resolution from despair.” 

The session was closed in a manner not very agreeable to 
spectators in the gallery, for no sooner was the last word pro- 

* He would not endure them, “ no, not for an hour.” 


117 


nounced, than the vast assembly rose with a noise and rapidity 
equal to the explosion of a thousand magazines of powder ; 
and each one, in departing, resembled the tract of a meteor. I 
know not what become of me, till, some time after, I found my- 
self walking down the park on that side next to Broadway, 
when, as usual, many people were moving up and down the 
street. The sun from his meridian throne smiled with peculiar 
radiance, and the prospect was gay and interesting. What most 
engaged my attention was innumerable winged genii, drest in 
the robes of Iris, with golden drapery floating around them, 
which seemed soft as air, and in a long train gradually melted 
into the invisible beam of the sun. One of these flew merrily 
about the head of each person I saw, keeping pace, as they 
walked, and acted much like bees when busied in extracting 
the mellifluous dew from the heads of clover in a meadow: 
sometimes at one ear, and then at the other, sometimes for a 
moment perehing on, then vaulting over, and flying round the 
head. The ladies’ large bonnets appeared to form for them a 
pleasing vehicle, resembling an airy chariot below, and, when 
thus perched, they might be mistaken for a lofty and elegant 
plume. Excepting a little cloven foot, very sharp and threaten- 
ing talons, which were, however, generally concealed, and a 
proboscis resembling an exquisitely fine dagger, I could see 
nothing about them which looked suspicious. Although nothing 
is extraordinary in a dream, in which wayward fancy delights 
to sport with the laws of reason, I was surprised at what I saw, 
and recollected the words of the poet : 

“ Millions of spiritual creatures walk the earth 

Unseen, both when we wake, and when we sleep.” 

At that moment my curiosity was awakened to know whe- 
ther I had not one of these serial attendants about my head ; 
and, looking round, I saw behind me a vast figure of terrific 
form and aspect, whom I could not for a moment mistake for 
his infernal majesty. He has been so often described that I 
suspect I should add nothing new. I will only say, that his 
glowing and protruded eyeballs evinced an ardour and pene- 


118 


tration of vision, not very pleasant to look at, or easy to scru- 
tinize : and his whole form reminded me of “ the sun eclipsed,” 
or “ archangel ruined.” 

My astonishment was increased when I perceived in his hand 
a litttle book, which I immediately knew to be the Triangle : 
with a stern voice, and a frown which seemed to insphere him 
in darkness, he demanded whether I was the author of that book. 
“ Great Lucifer,” said I, “ if your knowledge is as great as is 
generally imagined, you surely must know who wrote it.” 
“ Yes,” says he, “ I well know that you wrote it, and I am now 
come to take vengeance.” There is a vulgar notion prevailing 
that no living person can speak to a spirit ; but as this vision came 
up through the “ ivory gate,” the reader will not be surprised at 
this dialogue. I asked him what fault he found with that book. 
“ Fault,” said he, “ it is an audacious attack on some of my 
best friends ; and you have outdone the devil himself in lies 
* and slander.” “Very well,” I replied, “if you will show me 
a falsehood, in all that book, you may take me where you 
please.” 

I had often, in the course of my life, raised a query, in 
my own mind, whether the devil could read : being strong- 
ly persuaded, that, like many of his followers, he had con- 
demned books which he had never read ; and assured that to 
prevent people from reading was one of his devices ; though 
somewhat afraid of incensing him, I made bold, however, to 
ask him if he could read. “ You shall soon know,” replied he, 
“ whether I can read.” With that he turned to the 27 th page ; 
“ There, you say that a rat’s tail was never measured : which is 
false ; the zoologists have measured it a hundred times, for 
they measure all animals, even the legs of a grasshopper. You 
have told, sir, as great a lie as Goldsmith did when he said that 
the horned cattle of America shed their horns every year ; or 

as did w hen he said that the ants in South America 

would carry off every vestige of large villages of houses in three 
years. 

I told him, however, that I did not mean to assert that a rat’s 
tail was absolutely never measured, but that Hopkins and Cal- 
vin never measured it. “ Hah,” replied he, very quick, “ How 


119 


do you know that Hopkins and Calvin never did it ? And how 
dare you assert what you do not know 1 Hopkins and Calvin 
did things of less importance than measuring rats’ tails, and as 
for you, you cannot say that they did not spend half their time 
in that business.” “But, sir,” said I, for we now began to 
grow somewhat polite, “ if that book is full of lies, do you not 
like it the better for that, for it is said that you are the father of 
lies ?” — “ Come, come,” said he, “ those that wish to please me 
must tell lies about my enemies, not my friends ; at any rate, 
they must lie to suit my purposes. I don’t, indeed, care about 
abstract and metaphysical truth ; that I confess I hate as most 
of my best friends do — but truth or falsehood, which suits my 
interest, I approve of. For, sir, you must know that I am a 
selfish being.” I was going to tell him that I presumed I had 
now discovered the true cause of his resentment towards that 
book ; but he sternly interrupted me, “ Come along, you are 
convicted and I believe he would have laid hands upon me had 
he not been prevented by another phenomenon. 

At that moment the ground shook, and a superior light, that 
cast no shadow, seemed breaking on the heavens. A cloud ap- 
peared on the northern hemisphere, whose arching sides and 
silvered edges gradually rose to a summit, on which sat a person- 
age, which every eye, as by intuition, perceived to be immortal 
Truth. 

Her throne seemed ivory, and over her white robes floated 
an azure mantle besprinkled with drops of heavenly lustre. On 
her head was a chaplet of such flowers as spring in the regions 
of bliss ; and the summit of the diadem was distinguished by a 
centre of rays that resembled the morning star. The bloom of 
eternal youth was in her countenance, but her majestic form 
can only be described in the language of that world where she 
is fully known. In her right hand was “ the sword of the spi- 
rit,” and at her side the symbols of power and majesty. Be- 
neath her feet the clouds were condensed in awful darkness, 
and her chariot was borne along by the breath of the Al- 

\ 

mighty. 

I saw no more of the demon or his genii, and while every 
eye beheld this glorious personage from afar, a gentle, but ma- 


120 


jestic voice, in slow and solemn accents, was borne to every 
beholder along the whispering breeze. 

“ Unhappy people ! Truth alone conducts you to happiness : 
Her path is plain — her progress is pleasant — her end is glorious. 
Other guides obtrude upon you their services, but they impose 
on your credulity, and will betray your confidence. Ignorance 
was born blind : Prejudice has put out her own eyes : Error 
speaks but to deceive, and allures but to destroy : Ambition 
seeks you as her prey : Tradition is importunate without rea- 
son : Pride is the sister of Folly, and without goodness, and al- 
ways carries about with her the weapon on which she will one 
day fall : and selfishness, with fascinating smile, presents you 
with her bowl of deadly poison. Too long have you followed 
these fallacious guides. I am Truth : — It is my province to 
conduct you in the path of life, to the bosom of the God of truth 
and love.” She ceased, and while thousands yet listened for 
something more, her softened close seemed to die away in a dis- 
tant strain of heavenly music. 

But for my triangular bed, this delightful dream might have 
continued, but here the antipodes of my bed fellow gave me so 
violent a shock that I awoke, and behold it was a dream ! But 
having now got back to the first floor of my dream, it appeared 
that I had been waked at a very critical moment ; for I heard a 
great uproar and running about the house below, and somebody 
broke into our chamber, and, in great haste, told us that the 
house was all on fire, which the bursting of smoke and flame 
into our chamber but too well confirmed. We sprung out of 
bed, and hastened down stairs, where we learned that the landlord, 
who always slept in the apex, or upper angle of his house, 
because he loved a lofty situation, was hemmed in by the flames, 
and likely to perish. How it proved I cannot say, for here the 
cry of fire and ringing of bells, in the city, awaked me in good 
earnest. 

I have heard it remarked by an old observer, that the first 
thought which strikes the mind after waking, is generally the best 
clue to the interpretation of a dream. Whether the first of these 
dreams is allegorical, I leave it for the reader to judge ; and whe- 
ther the second is prophetic, events will declare. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


121 


No. IV. 


Why is the word of God called “ the sword of the Spirit 
There is great force, appropriateness, and beauty in this meta- 
phor. In ancient warfare, the sword was the principal weapon ; 
was of such use and importance, that it is often put for the whole 
offensive armour ; and persons slain in war, are said to be slain 
of the sword. The scriptures speak of pestilence , sword , and 
famine , as the three great scourges of men. The sword of the 
Spirit is that weapon in the hand of God by which his enemies 
are subdued, and brought to bow to the sceptre of his grace. 
“ The word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than a two- 
edged sword.” 

The object of this number is a solemn appeal to all who 
shall read it : — to the friends and the enemies of truth, to the 
people of this country at large, to this city, and to the men in 
this city with whom this controversy principally lies. I appeal 
to their consciences before God, and I ask them, what general 
strain of preaching — what scheme of doctrine, in our own 
country, has had most influence in promoting the great work 
of reformation — in turning many to righteousnes ? What strain 
of doctrine has had the happiest influence in turning mankind 
from their vices, and causing them to assume the profession, 
and exhibit the evidences, of religion, in their life and conver- 
sation ? Under what strain of preaching, and through what parts 
of the Union do Sabbath breaking, intemperance, profanity, de- 
bauchery, and gambling, least prevail ? 

Alas ! this will be read by many, probably, with a careless 
reflection about provincial prejudices. But the truth cannot be 
altered. And the truth is, that what is here usually intended 
by the New-England strain of doctrine , including divine sove- 
reignty, general atonement, moral inability, a probationary state, 
the invitation of the gospel to all men, and their collateral 
points, have been the doctrines in this country which have 
been attended with revivals of religion, and great reformations, 
11 


122 


among all ranks of people. Wherever these doctrines have 
been faithfully preached these salutary effects have followed. 

On the contrary, show me the city, the town, the village, the 
tract of country, where these doctrines have not been preached, 
but where they have been opposed, beat down, ridiculed, and 
cast out, as many in this city endeavour to do by them, and I 
will show you a place where religion is little thought of, where 
the sword of the Spirit has lain dormant, where the work of 
God has rarely, if ever, been carried on. God is a sovereign, 
and surely is not limited to any certain course of means ; yet, 
ordinarily, where the proper means are used the desired effects 
will follow. From the days of Edwards, till this time, in those 
parts of this country where these doctrines have been preached, 
there have been frequent reformations — extending often through 
the towns of a county ; sometimes for a hundred miles in ex- 
tent ; sometimes, indeed, limited to a town or neighbourhood. 
A t the present moment, indeed, for several years past, and al- 
most without intermission, large districts have been favoured 
with what, from their fruits and effects, we are authorized to 
call outpourings of the Spirit of God. 

And, I ask, for I will not be deterred by a false delicacy, or 
by the fear of what prejudice or malevolence may say ; I ask, 
what is, and has been, the religious state of those parts of our 
country where these doctrines have never been heard ? Though, 
indeed, as I said in a former number, these doctrines have 
been disseminated, more or less, though in some places but 
transiently, in every part of the Union ; and I repeat, that, in 
every part of the Union, they have been, more or less, favoured 
with tokens of divine approbation. 

With regard to these revivals of religion, I am aware that 
various opinions are entertained. I am by no means about to 
deny that some persons, who, on these occasions, espouse and 
profess religion, do not continue afterwards to give evidence of 
sincerity ; yet, every man is awfully concerned to see to it, that 
in speaking against these revivals, he does not speak against 
the work of the Spirit of God, and thereby blaspheme the Holy 
Ghost. 

If these revivals are not attended with indications and 


123 


fruits, which every Christian will allow must attend religion, 
let them be dishonoured with the name of delusion : for instance, 
they are usually accompanied wiih seriousness, anxiety, and 
alarm. But is this an evidence of delusion ? When a man be- 
comes convinced that he is a sinner, and exposed to eternal 
perdition thereby, is it unreasonable to suppose he will feel 
great alarm ? Are his fears groundless ? Rather, are not those 
who feel no anxiety, although exposed to God’s eternal wrath, 
in a state of complete infatuation ? Was ever delusion so grea t 
as that which reigns over the man that can despise, equally, both 
the favour and the wrath of God ? 

Religious awakenings are usually attended with seriousness ; 
a desire to frequent places of public worship and instruction ; 
and a total cessation of ordinary amusements, and even some- 
times of business. But, are these signs of delusion ? Would 
it not be happy for all men, if they would seek first the king- 
dom of God, with great importunity ? Are not the hopes of 
heaven, and the fears of hell, when brought home to the mind, 
stronger motives of action than our ordinary amusements and 
pursuits ? “ What is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, 

and lose his own soul ?” 

If these reformations do not reform mankind, they certainly 
are not the work of God. If they do not cause the drunkard 
to become temperate, the thief and the cheat to become ho- 
nest men, the debauched and the lascivious to become chaste, 
the swearer to become decent in his language, the immoral 
to become regular and exemplary ; if they do not make the re- 
lations of life more endearing, by being sustained better, and the 
duties of life delightful, by a habitual performance of them, they 
have no claim to be of God. But, if they produce these effects, 
and actually make men better, more punctual in the discharge of 
the duties of the first and second table, they are not the work 
of the devil ; but it is the work of the devil to censure and de- 
spise them, and bring them into disrepute. It is the work of the 
devil to laugh — no, devils cannot laugh when they see men con- 
cerned about their salvation. 

Is it an extraordinary thing, that a discovery of the fulness 
and beauty of the Saviour, his willingness and power to save the 


124 


soul, should occasion sinners to rejoice ? Who is there, that 
had but a feeble glimpse of the great plan of salvation, through 
Christ, who would not rejoice, even with joy unspeakable, and 
full of glory ? It is surely no light thing to be redeemed from 
the curse of the law ; “ to be made free by the Son,” and to 
become an heir of his glory, a subject of his blessed and eternal 
kingdom. 

If those people who are concerned, and greatly alarmed for 
their eternal interests ; who seem to forsake all other pursuits 
for those of religion ; who rejoice in Christ, and break off their 
sins by righteousness, and their iniquities by turning to God : 
I say, if these are not the religious — if these are not Christians, 
who, and where are they ? Are they those who go merrily on 
through life, without regrets for the past, or fears for the future ; 
who are bewildered in the avocations of business, or fascina- 
tions of pleasure ; who are not troubled with superstitious fears 
of hell, and feel no apprehension of divine displeasure ; who 
neither trouble themselves, nor others, with obtrusive concerns 
of a future world ? Are these the followers of Christ, “ who are 
not conformed to the world, but are transformed by the renewing 
of their minds ?” 

Are the gay and thoughtless, whose hours are divided between 
routs and assemblies, entertainments and parties of pleasure ; 
the proud and ambitious, whose stern and haughty eye is in- 
tensely fixed on the glittering summit of fame and power ? Are 
these the followers of Christ, and shall they hear the high and 
solemn benediction, “ Come, ye blessed of my Father ?” 

When a number of men associate together from motives of 
pride and ambition ; build themselves a splendid house of wor- 
ship, and endeavour to fill it, by artfully drawing to it members 
of other churches ; alluring by intrigue, by whispers, and incan- 
tations, those abortions of slander, the still-born brood of false- 
hood, and all under the name of proselytism — is this the church 
of Christ? 

There are many who wish people to become religious in a 
more rational way, with less noise and disturbance than usually 
attend these reformations. Far be it from me to wish to ex- 
clude reason from the faith or practice of Christians : “but, is it 


125 


unreasonable that a concern so vast as the soul’s salvation, and, 
especially, so opposite to the general habits and tempers of man- 
kind as religion, should become a public sentiment — should af- 
fect a whole society with a strong and simultaneous sensation ; 
nay, should create a public passion ? All great interests, all 
public concerns, have this effect, though they are far less im- 
portant than religion. What is the effect, when a nation is agi- 
ated by the spirit of war ? The enthusiasm descends even to 
children ; the theme resounds in the songs of the milk-maid and 
shepherd — in the conversation of the peasant and plough-boy. 
What if the inhabitants of an entire county, or province, were 
about to remove from one kingdom to another ; a general senti- 
ment would be awakened, and it would become the topic of pub- 
lic conversation and attention — of animation and enthusiasm. 

Where great numbers embrace religion at one time, it is a 
true and real emigration, and one infinitely more important than 
a removal to India : “ They are translated out of the kingdom 
of Satan into the kingdom of God’s dear Son.” Is it wonderful* 
if it should excite strong and lively sensations ? and would it 
not be more wonderful, if it should not incorporate with it the 
natural passions of the mind, and sometimes be marked with 
enthusiasm. Dr. Young says, “ an undevout astronomer is 
mad:” but, it is easier to study astronomy without devotion, 
than it ie to feel religion without passion. 

We are not required to love our neighbour better than our- 
selves ; but the great apostle of the gentiles declares, “if we 
are beside ourselves, it is for your sakes.” If an apostle could 
be beside himself, could almost lose the command of his rea- 
son for others, surely it is not to be wondered at, nor faulted, 
if men are overwhelmed with fear, elevated with hope, enrap- 
tured with joy, in contemplation of the amazing destinies of 
their own souls. 

I fear that these nice objections to religious revivals origi- 
nate from wrong views of religion itself ; they seem evidently 
to spring from a disgust at the sight of great numbers seeking 
for salvation at once. They want people should keep still, and 
say nothing about their hopes or fears of futurity. They are not 
at all disgusted at the strong passions, and enthusiastic feelings, 
11 * 


126 


often manifested at horse races, in theatres, at concerts of am* 
sic, in assemblies where great events are celebrated, and in the 
field of battle. Man, it seems, may be impassioned about every 
thing but religion ; there he must be cold as marble, unfeeling 
as clay, dull as lead. He must, by all means, have the forms 
of religion, and that with as much pomp, splendor, and cere- 
mony as you please ; but he must go through those forms with 
as little ardour, and as lifeless a monotony, as the moonlight 
shadows of the churchyard move over the congregation of the 
dead. 

Whether the revivals of religion in this country have been 
productive of good, which, at least, would be evidence in their 
favour, I leave those who possess the means to judge for them- 
selves ; and, in the silent hour of calm .reflection, they will 
judge justly. In the heat of controversy, and under the pain- 
ful stimulus of contradiction, good men err in judgment by 
overlooking the evidence of facts ; but when these casual clouds 
are past over, the sun breaks forth. 

But, wherever reformations are discountenanced and spoken 
against by public teachers, they are seldom observed to take 
place; and, I call upon the reader of these numbers, to look 
around him in this city, and mark in what congregations these 
appearances have occured ; for, while I mean to cast no re- 
flections, I neither mean to flatter the vanity of men. The truth 
will bear its own weight, and will approve itself to every man’s 
conscience before God. 

The strain of preaching which, in the former series, I have 
styled triangular, because incessantly urging three grand points, 
which I consider as erroneous, as far as I have been able to ob- 
serve, is rarely, if ever, attended with salutary effects : it does 
not carry conviction to the mind ; men’s understandings revolt 
from it. Tell men that they are condemned for a crime they 
never committed ; that they will be punished for what they can- 
not do; or, that they will be doubly and aggravatedly con- 
demned for not believing in a Saviour who never died for them, 
and they will feel no conviction. However they may force 
themselves into an involuntary assent, into an artificial, as I have 
already said, a kind of technical belief of such propositions. 


127 


there will be no conviction of the understanding ; for there can 
be none. They may, indeed, say, and perhaps truly, “ my teach- 
er is a great divine, has studied these things, and surely ought 
to know ; and I have nothing to do but to surrender my under- 
standing to his opinions and doctrines.” But, alas ! the mind 
drawn up to this tension is like an elastic bow, which owes its 
figure to the cord whch holds it ; it3 strength is overpowered, 
but not its tendency. 

Many of the doctrines of revelation are such, as human rea- 
son would never reach, unaided by divine light ; but being re- 
vealed, there is no doctrine of revelation apparantly absurd or 
repugnant to reason. The three grand points, however, which 
form the triangle, are not the only ones which, in their convic- 
tion on the mind, remind me of the bended bow : their notion 
of faith is inexplicable, and their idea of justification covered 
with mist. As for faith, it is not opinion , assent , reason , know - 
ledge , nor love ; it is nothing which properly belongs to human 
perceptions, nor exercises ; I have sometimes heard them call 
it a divine principle, but never could learn what principle was, 
or wherein it consisted. If I have been able to learn what they 
mean by justification, it is, that a certain quantity of Christ’s 
righteousness is taken and put into the Christian, on account of 
which he is justified. The scriptures teach us that Christ has 
atoned for sin, and the sinner is fully pardoned and freely justi- 
fied, in consideration of what Christ has done to magnify the 
law of God : but the notion of a transfer of Christ’s righteous- 
ness, so as to make it the righteousness of the sinner, is using 
words without ideas. 

Opposition to the doctrines which have almost uniformly 
marked the course of reformations in this country, and, in the 
hands of God, have been the cause of those reformations, can 
be regarded in no other light than as a deadly aim at reforma- 
tion itself. He who strikes at the cause, strikes with a bolder 
hand, and with higher aim, than he who strikes at the effect. 
He who proves that a reformation, so called, is but an excite* 
ment of natural passion, and that its subjects may apostatize 
from their profession, proves little ; at least, but a local fact : 
but he who makes war on that strain of preaching and scheme 


128 


of doctrine, which has been followed by nearly all the revivals 
of religion in a nation, if he succeed, will not be trouble d with 
apostacies, for he will see no reformations ; he will have the 
pleasure, if it may be called a pleasure, of seeing people go 
carelessly on through life, with no troublesome anxieties about 
religion, or the life to come : he will tell them, from sabbath to 
sabbath, that “Christ died for none but the elect; that he died 
for them, because they were the elect ; and that when he makes 
known to them their election, then they ought to love and obey 
him they will make their own improvement, “ that all anxieties 
about salvation are useless and vain. Why should we borrow 
trouble, or anticipate evil ? Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow 
we die. If he has died for us, he will make it known to us in 
time ; if not, then we owe him no gratitude ; and as we were all con- 
demned in Adam, we have nothing on our own account to regret.” 

That people will quiet their consciences, and repose calmly, 
and sleep soundly on this triangular bed, is as sure as that the 
sun rises and sets. This triple, nay, quadruple thraldom, in 
which their own voluntary agency is in no way implicated, 
soothes their slumber, and not a little gratifies their pride ; still 
more so does the soporific dose “ descend into their bowels like 
water, and like oil into their bones,” when a religion is held 
up before them which is no business of theirs ; which gives them 
a happy passiveness, and is every whit, and in all respects, as 
distinct from their moral feelings and powers, as the state to 
which it offers a remedy is without their accountability or 
blame. As they had nothing to do in bringing themselves into 
sin ; nothing to do in getting themselves out of it, so they are 
highly satisfied to learn, that they have nothing to do when fairly 
out of it. As for faith, which is the body of their religion, it 
is no exercise of theirs, and has no connexion with their moral 
exercises in its origin, nature, or object, for it is neither per- 
ception nor volition, knowledge nor love. They have no 
virtue, for there is no such thing ; and, in fine, they seem to be 
allowed to have nothing on earth, properly to be called theirs, 
but a little selfishness. 

Such a strain of preaching will scarcely be followed by a 
spirit of reformation. The process of conversion and of Chris- 


tianizing under these tenets will, indeed, make little noise : a per- 
son goes to his minister, and tells him he has some thoughts about 
religion. The clergyman asks him, “ Do you verily believe 
that all men are justly condemned for the sin of Adam?” 
“ Yes.” “ Do you acknowledge yourself worthy of endless 
misery for what he did?” “Yes.” “Do you believe yourself 
totally incapacitated to obey God, or do any thing which he re- 
quires ?” “ Yes.” “ And can you not love Christ, who has been 

so good as to die for you, and has done, and will do every thing 
for you, and will carry you to heaven, and make you eternally 
happy there ?” “ O yes, I should be very ungrateful not to love 
one who died for me, and will save me.” “ Very well ! you have 
nothing to do but confirm yourself iu these sentiments ; you had 
better join the church ; there is reason to believe you are one of 
the elect.” 

Let it not be understood that I here pretend to give all the 
words that pass between the catechist and his catechumen, 
but I give the great features, and the leading points. Enough 
more words are used ; but as he is never made to feel the 
true blame of his condition, he never feels a proper repent- 
ance, neither can he have just conceptions of the nature or 
application of the remedy. These convictions are sufficiently 
silent for the most fastidious, and are followed by conversions 
to a selfish, opinionated, intolerant temper and character ; even, 
sometimes, to that degree, that a candid observer is at a loss 
whether such a conversion is more the subject of felicitation 
than of regret. If not twofold more a child of hell, he is, at 
least, twofold more a child of prejudice, bigotry, and persecu- 
tion. 

If some men shall flutter and flounce remarkably in reading 
these remarks, let them see to it, lest they confirm the suspi- 
cion that they are the “ wounded birds.” 

As this Number is an appeal to the eye of the public respecting 
the usefulness and importance of revivals of religion, I deplore 
that I am compelled to add, that the instances which have 
come under the inspection of this city, are mournfully few. 
Look into those large congregations whose fame has been 


130 


spread wide by the splendour of the great names of the men, 
who are “the angels of those churches.” And, I ask those 
“ angels” whether they would not rejoice to see one general 
reformation pervading all their assemblies, and spreading 
through the hundreds and thousands of their congregations ? 
I am certain the angels of heaven would rejoice. Would they 
not be glad to see all their people roused at once, to secure 
the interests of their souls ? Would they not rejoice to see the 
whole population of this capital moved, as by one spirit, to se- 
cure one grand object? Surely, such a moment would not be 
greater than the weight of the concern depending. A heathen 
monarch, of a much greater city than this, onee rose up from 
his throne, and covered himself with sackcloth — was followed 
by his court and nobles, and by all the people; even food was 
interdicted, in a solemn fast, for three days. This was done 
because God had declared that Nineveh should be destroyed. 
And is there no reason to believe that God’s anger burns 
against this city ? Has not the cry of its wickedness gone up to 
heaven ! And would not a reformation that should visit every 
house, and forcibly seize every mind, be desirable ? Would it 
not occasion joy in heaven ? What if all the immense crowds 
that move through the streets were suddenly and strongly im- 
pressed with the belief that they were infinitely vile in the 
sight of God ; that they were hastening to the bar of judgment, 
and to an eternal world of retribution ? What sudden alterations 
should we see ! Would our.; streets resound by night with hor- 
rible oaths and execrations ? Would hundreds of houses be 
crowded with scenes of drunkenness, debauchery, violence, 
and obscenity ? Would our docks, and vessels, and lanes, and 
alleys, teem with wretched people in whom the last efforts of 
vice have left the semblance of humanity, but identified with 
every thing loathsome and detestable ? Would even crowds of 
chidren be heard profanely vociferating the awful name of 
God in their common sports and pastimes ? Alas ! it is not con- 
sidered that the interests and destines of every one of those 
souls are as truly great as those of the first rank of people. 
The shadowy vale of death once past, and the soul discumber- 


131 


ed of its adventitious advantages, there will appear little distinc- 
tion between the prince and beggar. 

But what would be the effect of such a reformation as this ? 
Would it not be the theme of general conversation ? What 
crowds would throng the churches? And would it be admi- 
rable, if, under the strong impulse of a general sensation, it 
should become what may be termed a public passion ? Perhaps 
even business, for a while, might be, in a manner, suspended ; and 
the ordinary, even the innocent, amusements and diversions of the 
city would be forgotten. 

A gloomy scene! methinks I hear some one say; and yet, 
reader, every one of these gay people will soon see gloomier 
scenes than this. The hour of death, and the solemn audit be- 
fore the throne of judgment, will be more gloomy and dreadful, 
and, without reformation, there will be eternal gloom and hor- 
ror. Nor yet would such a scene as this be attended with so 
much gloom and misery as now pervades the city. Ineffable 
joy and pleasure would fill every pious mind at the prospect of 
thousands of people forsaking wickedness and turning to God. 
Religion is not of a gloomy, melancholy nature, and the con- 
cern and anxiety attending reformations is caused, not by reli- 
gion, but by a consciousness of the want of it. 

Be it that such a reformation, in this city, would be attended 
with some instances of delusion — some indications of fanaticism ; 
how much deeper is the delusion that now reigns over the great 
mass of people, while they neglect their eternal interests, and 
despise, and dishonour the God that made them. A stronger 
fanaticism hurries them onward towards eternal ruin than that at- 
tends the religions enthusiast in the favour of his devotions. 
The stern and lofty front of wickedness everywhere displayed 
— everywhere menacing — everywhere daring and obtrusive, 
defies every thing short of almighty power. But before the 
spirit of God be sent “ to reprove the world of sin, of righteous- 
ness, and of judgment,” it shall melt like wax — it shall vanish 
like smoke, “ for strong is his hand, and high is his right hand.” 

Such an event could not take place but with a general and 
strong sensation. Any judge of human nature will perceive 


132 


that an irreligious — a wicked man cannot suddenly pass from 
that to a religious state without great anxiety and alarm ; with- 
out unusual agitation of mind. It is not merely to say, “ I 
will now become religious,” and the work is done : habits 
corroborated by time, and identified with nature, are not thus 
broken through. The allurements of wickedness are strong, 
and are known, from all experience, to be formidable. A drunk- 
ard does not lightly say, “ I will from this day become tempe- 
rate the profane blasphemer, “ I will henceforth use no more 
profane language the dishonest, the dissipated, the covetous, 
the liar, u I will now alter my course.” I mention these classes, 
as pre-eminently wicked, but every man, even with a much fairer 
exterior, in his train of feelings, in his heart and affections, is as 
truly irreligious as these classes. 

Religious awakenings and fears are by no means delusion 
nor enthusiasm. They do but present truth and reality to the 
mind with their proper interest and influence. A man on his 
death-bed is greatly alarmed, feels strong fears, and calls for 
advice and prayers. Even courts of justice and legislatures, 
when a man is condemned, and going to execution, appoint him 
religious instruction ; send him a clergyman to prepare him — 
for what? For the very same event to which every soul in this 
city is hastening : to prepare him for death — for the solemn 
trial — for eternity! Who objects to the propriety of this humane 
regulation ? Who dares not think it decorous, nay, awfully im- 
portant, that a man on his death-bed should feel solemnity, anx- 
iety, earnestness, fear — should pray, should ask prayers ? His 
eternal state is now to be decided ; he is now to stand that trial 
where there is no disguise ; to hear that sentence from which 
lies no appeal. 

But the thousands that swarm in this city are in that same 
state. They may, indeed, and some will, no doubt, live longer, 
and some perhaps not. Many of them will go as suddenly, far 
more unexpectedly, and the danger is that they will go without 
preparation. A dreadful infatuation reigns over mankind. The 
interests of the soul, its good estate, and salvation, are as much 
greater, more imperative, and grand, than any temporal concern, 


133 


as eternity is longer than time, as endless pains and pleasures 
are more important than those of a moment. 

The truth is, if all the inhabitants of this city had but a cor- 
rect idea of their state and prospects, they would universally feel 
that deep and trembling anxiety which a man feels on a death- 
bed, or a criminal under sentence of death. When compared 
with a vast and boundless futurity, every concern of life would 
shrink into nothing. They would feel as though the change 
was present ; the next step and eternal scenes would open ; life 
is past, and the dread tribunal is before them. Then, all must 
depend on the favour of the Almighty Judge. But have they 
done any thing to secure his favour or deprecate his wrath ? No ! 
The great body of them have equally neglected his favour and 
his wrath, have equally despised his anger and his love ; have 
felt no regrets for sin ; have never made a prayer ; have seldom 
used the name of God but in a profane oath. And are such 
people fit for heaven ? A glimpse of their condition would con- 
vince them that they were suited to no place but a region of 
sin and misery. 

Then they would think of the Omniscient eye that sees them — 
the Almighty power that holds them. They would think what 
goodness had been answered with what ingratitude, what favour 
by what perverseness, what love with what hatred. It would 
occur to them that perhaps their crimes are already past for- 
giveness, and that divine displeasure may now be ready to cut 
them off. With such impressions they could for a moment en- 
tertain no resolution but that of devoting so late an hour to so 
important an exigence. I need not tell what they would do or 
say : every reflecting mind will for itself strike a general out- 
line of the course they would take. It is the course generally 
pursued by persons who are the subjects of great awakenings. 
“ Who,” says Mr. Locke, “ could come within the bare possibility 
of infinite misery” without fear and alarm ? But if all the mul- 
titudes in this city, excepting the comparatively small number 
of truly pious, were convinced that they were not only “ with- 
in the bare possibility” of endless misery, but were under sen- 
tence of the law of God, as well as hastening by their own vo- 
luntary course to that end ; that it was not only possible, but 
12 


134 


highly probable, that that would be their condition ; nay, that 
there was no possibility of their escape but by deep repentance, 
and thorough reformation, but by the pardon and acceptance of 
God through Jesus Christ, they would feel and manifest the 
greatest alarm and amazement. 

That this would be the case here, we may be assured from 
the experience of all Christendom since the reformation ; and, if 
possible, more from the experience of former years, and other 
countries. “ There were great awakenings,” says President 
Edwards, “ in 1625, in the west of Scotland, when it was a com- 
mon thing for people on hearing the word of God preached to 
be seized with great terror and alarm, and who became, after- 
wards, most solid and lively Christians. The same author in- 
forms of many in France that were so wonderfully affected 
with the preaching of the gospel, in the times of those famous 
divines, Farel and Viret, that, for a time, they could not follow 
their secular business.” The same writer mentions similar ac- 
counts from Ireland and other places. 

President Edwards also quotes a letter from his father, in 
which his father observes, that “it was a common thing, when 
the famous Mr. John Rogers was preaching, for some of his hear- 
ers even to cry out under the greatness of their alarm and ter- 
ror. And by what I have heard,” continues he, “ I conclude it 
was usual for many that heard that very awakening and rousing 
preacher of God’s word, to make a great cry in the congregation.” 

A religious attention, thus excited in great bodies of people, 
cannot be safely ascribed to any cause but the influence of the 
Spirit of God. The reasoning used by Christ himself, in answer 
to those who blasphemously ascribed his casting out devils to 
Beelzebub, the prince of devils, applies, at least, if not with equal 
force, to this case. He said, “ if Satan cast out Satan, he is 
divided against himself ; and how can his kingdom stand ?” I 
do not say that when a village, a town, a city, or a distri ct of 
people are religiously affected, that Satan is cast out ; but I say 
that his influence is weakened, and his kingdom totters. It pre- 
sents an immediate check, as far as it extends, to the exuberance 
of vice, to the enormity of visible wickedness. In all the sta- 
ges of its progress and operation, it holds a favourable aspect 


135 


towards deep and permanent reformation. Experience will 
warrant the assertion, that in these general awakenings, by . far 
the greater number of those who come forward in a public pro- 
fession of religion, are found afterwards to adorn that profession, 
and to give evidence of its truth and sincerity. It is also known 
to be a fact, that the greater part of those who are the subjects of 
the awakening, are found eventually to give evidence of a real 
conversion to God. 

Even those who admit regeneration to be a progressive work, 
and believe that the agency of the sinner is more or less con- 
cerned in it ; — in whatever way men are turned from sin to ho- 
liness, and from the service of Satan to the service of God ; 
every one who wishes to see the great work brought about in 
some manner or other, cannot but be glad to see a general at- 
tention to religious concerns. For if it does not take that form 
with which they are most pleased, it takes some form, and can- 
not but result in raising the standard of public morals, and in 
checking the torrent of vice which threatens to bear all before 
it, and which, in great cities, becomes rapid and resistless as a 
flood. 

A reformation extending to every house in this city, would 
be the noblest sight the lover of humanity ever saw. Its indica- 
tions would be strong and decisive. The reign of vice, which 
now regards no limit, but throws its malign influence within 
every enclosure, would on all sides be curtailed. The horrid 
clang of profaneness, the bloated features of dissipation, the 
haggard spectacle of prostitution, the inanity of vicious idleness, 
the menace of unbridled passion, deliberate revenge, curtained 
behind human features, and heard remote, sometimes like 
thunders in the bosom of darkness ; — in fine, the conflicts of 
interest, the wiles of dishonesty, the deep-laid snares of covet- 
ousness, which now, at every step, arrest your attention, if not 
endanger your repose, would suddenly disappear. 

What if there were even a temporary suspension of business, 
a circumstance I have known to attend the progress of such a 
work ? Would that be any evidence against it? Is this world of 
darkness and sin so vastly important that nothing for a mo- 
ment must ever interrupt man’s complete and universal servi* 


136 


tude to its toils and cares, till he plunges into eternity ? Must a 
man be the subject of sarcasm and contempt, because in the 
first hours of his solicitude to secure eternal felicity, in the first 
days of his espousal to the adorable Redeemer, he has neglect- 
ed worldly pursuits ? Alas ! those that bring this objection, I 
fear, have never been informed that “ the love of money is the 
root of all evil have never considered, that “ it is easier for a 
camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man 
to enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Christians belong to a 
kingdom which is not of this world ; and shall they not some- 
times make every thing give way to the interests, pleasures, and 
joys of that kingdom ? Especially, whilst their interests in it are 
apparently insecure ; whilst they are solicitously and painfully 
endeavouring to obtain “ a name and a place” in that kingdom, 
shall they not consider this world’s wealth and enjoyments as 
“ lees, and dung, and dross ?” 

When were the people of this city known to relax their at- 
tention to business, under the powerful sway of religious im- 
pulse ? Does devotion to God, and the solemn acts of worship, 
infringe on the days of the week ; or do the schemes of amass- 
ing wealth, the delirium of incessant business, still fever their 
souls on the Sabbath, distract their attention, and palsy their de- 
votions in the house of God, and surcharge their conversation 
in the intervals of worship 1 Nor yet does it all avail them : for 
in this perpetual and endless whirl of business, they resemble 
the conflict of thousands endeavouring to gain a slippery sum- 
mit, where there is not room for hundreds to stand. When half 
way up the hill, they suddenly slide into the vale of poverty, and 
from thence sink to the grave. 

The King of heaven himself is the dispenser of all the bless- 
ings of this life, as well as the life to come. He has said, “ Be 
not anxious for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall 
drink, or wherewithal ye shall be clothed ; but seek first the 
kingdom of God and the righteousness thereof, and all these 
things shall be added unto you.” Accordingly, it has been ac- 
tually and repeatedly observed, that those towns and villages 
who, seemingly, neglect their business, in times of religious 
awakening, have been favoured with abundance and peculiar 


137 


prosperity in those seasons. There is, indeed, the promise of 
God to this effect; and I assert what is known to many. 

While I figure to myself all the inhabitants of this city, de- 
voutly and earnestly attending to the most important of all con- 
cerns, I cannot but consider in what a variety of respects this 
would be, by far, the happiest city on the globe. The great 
and sudden diminution of the number of the miserable victims 
of vice — of criminals which throng our courts, and crowd our 
prisons — of invalids which fill our hospitals — of paupers in our 
alms-houses and aslyums — of helpless age, without provision — 
and infancy, without protection — of beggars patrolling the streets, 
whose story is, generally, but a veil to their faults ; but, most 
of all, of that numerous banditti of thieves, robbers, swindlers, 
pilferers, incendiaries, burglars, and ruffians, whose conceal- 
ment from the public eye alone prevents a general alarm. 

The immense accumulation of human masses of the above 
description, in great cities, and which make incessant demands 
on the justice and vigilance, as well as the charity and liberali- 
ty of society, become, at length, like a putrid diathesis in the 
human body ; or, to say the least, the perpetual recurrence of 
these loathsome objects is one of the pests and torments of great 
cities. Yet the immortal souls of all these miserable people 
are of immense value; the reformation that should reach and 
recover them, would plant new stars in the firmament of glory. 
And how delightful the thought, that the light of truth should 
dispel the gloom from these dungeons, and, through such wide 
departments of pain and horror, should pour the healing balm 
of salvation. 

Far above these Augean stables of sin and pain, and which 
no Herculean labour could cleanse, there is another department 
of vice in this city, but connected with the former by innume- 
rable doors and headlong steps. This region appears brilliant 
and fair ; its precincts resound with hilarity, feast, and song, 
and it contains thousands of the opulent, the fashionable, 
the young, and the gay. Vice is clad in splendour, and a spirit 
reigns here which knows no moral law but inclination, and re- 
cognises no god but pleasure. But one use is made here of 
Jehovah’s awful name, and that is to give bravery and relish to 


138 


the idle clamours of folly — to embellish the fulminations of wit 
and mirth, and to give force and grandeur to the language of 
passion, rage, and falsehood. Is this the abode of happiness ? 
Its chief characteristics are restless pride without gratification — 
ostentation without motive or reward — professions without sin- 
cerity — ceremony without comfort — laughter without joy — 
smiles which conceal rancour — approbation alloyed with envy, 
and vociferous praises dying away into the whispers of ca- 
lumny. 


“ Tumultuous grandeur crowds the blazing square, 

The rattling chariots clash, the torches glare.” 

What changes a work of God’s spirit would cause in this 
numerous class ; and, O ! how greatly to be desired, even for 
the purposes of present happiness ! But do you think that these 
gay people, on whose countenances often dwells the smile of 
peace — whose every step appeals light and airy as the radiant 
footstep of Aurora — whose very form and features are luminous 
with contentment and hope ; do you imagine they live other- 
wise than in a continual round of unmingled enjoyment ? How 
false is the estimate made of human happiness ! These people 
are as mistaken in their pursuit of pleasure as others are in 
judging of their felicities from their exterior. 

They are strangers to happiness ; and I am in no fear of contra- 
diction. No, the immortal mind is not thus made. The glitter of 
dress — the splendour of apartments — the loftiness of houses — the 
beauty of equipage, have all the potency of their charms from the 
supposed admiration they excite in the eyes of spectators ; and 
even here their vain possessors are grossly mistaken ; for more 
than half that admiration is the most unlovely envy. The bril- 
liance of all these things strikes the eye, but carries no pleasure 
to the heart ; the immortal spirit within well knows they are 
but dust ; and, in the midst of these baubles, indignantly retires 
within itself, and refuses to be consoled with a portion no bet- 
ter than what falls to the fowls of heaven, and the beasts of the 
earth. 


139 


Religion is man’s greatest good ; it pays the most respect to 
his most important interests ; brings the soul to the knowledge 
and possession of her proper enjoyments, and points her up- 
ward to her eternal inheritance. Without religion, the wealth of 
Croesus cannot save a man from the deepest poverty ; with it, the 
beggar Lazarus possesses boundless wealth, and shall be eternally 
blessed. 

With this idea, the object before me becomes important, in no 
ordinary degree ; and as I see crowds passing by my window, 
of all ages and conditions ; their high destiny and immortal pow- 
ers, of which they appear to be scarcely conscious, rises upon 
me in solemn prospect : I cannot but reflect where these persons, 
and all the mulitude that I see move about these streets, will be 
after the mighty lapse of ten thousand ages. Stupidity may 
laugh, and infidelity sneer, at such a suggestion, but a heathen 
monarch wept at the thought that all his army, the greatest ever 
assembled, would die in a hundred years.* And a greater than 
a heathen monarch wept over a city, doubtless less guilty before 
God than this. Yes, after the full period of ten thousand ages 
has rolled away, not a soul now in this city shall be extinct, or, 
shall fail to make one of the number destined to eternal ages of 
happiness or misery. 

I cannot but reflect how important these days are to the thou- 
sands 1 see about me, perfectly unconscious of their value, be- 
cause thoughtless of the great purposes to be answered by 
them, and of the great work to be done in them. As it is with 
the whole of life itself, so it is with the business of every day ; 
they have an ulterior relation to our eternal state. I am fully 
aware that the effusions of the holy spirit are not at the option 
of men : it is not'in the power of man to cause a reformation in 
this city. But when I consider the boundless fulness of gos- 
pel provision, the explicit and earnest invitations of the gospel : 
when I know that God is long suffering, “ not willing that any 
should perish, but that all should come to repentance when I 
consider how this city has been distinguished by great and spe- 
cial blessings of providence ; shielded in war, delivered from 


* Xerxes the Great. 


140 


pestilence, prospered in peace, and rising to greatness, I cannot 
but advert to the stupidity and wickedness, which were never 
more visible and triumphant than at the present time, with alarm 
and foreboding. And let it be called prophesying, or by any 
other opprobrious name, God will not suffer such blessings to 
be answered by such ingratitude with long impunity. There will 
be changes, and the sword of divine displeasure is, I fear, already 
drawn ; in what way it will strike, or how it will fall, infinite wis- 
dom only knows. 

Be it that God’s own work is in his own hands, and that he 
will carry it on when and where he pleases : Christians ought to 
know that God works by means, otherwise of what use is a 
gospel ministry ? The almighty and ever blessed God has pro- 
mised to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him. But let any 
one, to whom a thought so improbable as a general reformation 
in this city, may occur, who may feel a desire for the salvation 
of this great people ; let him look round him and ask, why it is 
that sinners are surrounded as with a wall so adamantine, so im- 
penetrable, so impervious to conviction ? Why are the impedi- 
ments so numerous ? Why is it so awfully improbable that we 
shall see a general reformation here ? Why does it appear so 
discouraging, so hopeless, so morally impossible, as almost to 
paralize the conception of desire, or the secret wrestlings and 
agonizings of prayer? There surely is a cause, nor is that 
cause invisible in its operation. Religion is everywhere the 
same. There is “ balm in Gilead, and a physician there.” God 
is no more hostile to cities than to villages : his spirit is as free, 
and his offers of salvation as full, to the people of a crowded 
city as of the open country. Nor are the people in cities 
more averse to religion than in the country. 

Human nature is, indeed, much the same in all places ; but if 
there is any difference, the people of large cities have more 
sensibility, are certainly more alive to the finer feelings, and to 
the impulse of public sensations, and are more quick and sus- 
ceptible to sentimental impressions. They are naturally no 
more wicked, no more inaccessible to conviction, no more ar- 
dent in worldly pursuits, no more insensible to the solemn 


141 


themes of evangelical truth, or to the condition and prospects 
of the soul, than the inhabitants of the country at large. 

The difference which sinks the scale of the city to a depth 
so hopeless, in this comparison, is owing, in a great measure, to 
a difference in the means used to promote religion ; in short, to 
a difference in what is denominated the means of grace. 

If the reader will recur to the first numbers of the Triangle, 
first series, he will there find stated the cause to which I here 
allude. The strain of doctrine there described, and which has, 
in a measure, formed the current of opinion and tone of feeling 
in a very great body of people in this city, suffice it to say, has 
not been attended with many indications of reformation, and 
has, to all appearance, presented no barrier to the overwhelm- 
ing flood of vice which threatens the city. 

It will be easy to contradict this assertion, but not easy to show 
that it is not true : “ cum res ipsa loquitur and I shall dismiss 
this subject with expressing my firm belief, that these doctrines 
continuing to be disseminated, enforced, and maintained in the 
manner and form they have been, for years past, there will be 
no reformation. I have no expectation that God will honour 
them with that mark of his approbation ; and as for the merit 
they claim, in point of moral suasion, or the prospect of any 
effect they will produce in that way, I should expect as much 
effect from the Arabian proverbs delivered in their native tongue. 
They are not the doctrines of the frequent and great reforma- 
tions which have been in our days, and in our country. They 
are not “ the sword of the Spirit.” 

The more these doctrines prevail and gain credit, the more 
men are contracted by selfishness, which always brings intole- 
rance in its train : the more noise is made about depravity, and 
the greater the ostentation of setting human nature low, the 
more is the hearer and the convert flattered in his pride and 
quieted in his conscience, and made to sleep, by a potent anti- 
dote, against even the thunders of truth : the more that is made 
of faith, the less of personal holiness, and that true moral ex- 
cellence, which gives religion its beauty and heaven its felicity. 
So that, in leading the sinner to contemplate his own depravity, 
they furnish him with excuses instead of overwhelming him 


142 


with conviction ; and in leading the Christian to consider the 
gracious promise of God, they puff him up with pride, and em- 
bolden him audaciously to demand salvation, and exhort him to 
“ keep Christ to hi3 word.” 

v INVESTIGATOR. 


No. V. 

Among ail the words which give offence to the advocates of 
the triangular scheme, the term Metaphysics stands foremost. 
They abhor it even more than they do morality, virtue, or 
even disinterestedness. This prejudice against some, and so 
many of the best words in our language, is not a mark in their 
favour : and especially when it is considered that their antipa- 
thy does not stop at the word itself, but goes far beyond, and 
aims at the very things these words are used for. 

Concerning these offensive words I have said something in 
former numbers ; but as somewhere on this ground, they have 
erected one of their strongest fortresses, from which they keep 
up a perpetual and running fire of random shot, I shall sit down 
before it in this number : nor do I expect to find it as impreg- 
nable as the den of Cacus. About the word disinterested , I 
think I have already discharged my duty. It is a term, and 
conveys an idea, well understood, in all our best writers. Ad- 
dison and Johnson use it frequently in the same sense we use 
it. A man sees two men in a quarrel, and fiercely contending. 
He steps in between them, and says, “ Gentlemen, I have no 
interest in the result of this contention ; I am well disposed to- 
wards you both. Permit me, then, to act as a mediator be- 
tween you.” This man will be likely to have influence with 
both these men, because they perceive that he is entirely disin- 
terested. 

I therefore said that no word in our language was better un- 
derstood, or more immoveably fixed in its true import. I have 


143 


not seen a more handsome illustration of this word than I lately 
read in Cox’s life of Melancthon, where he sums up and finishes 
the character of that great nvan by observing, that he generally 
acted under the influence of a purely “ disinterested benevo- 
lence.” But some of our great divines would tell Cox a dif- 
ferent story. Those men, who have eaten freely of the Amor 
sui , protend that it is either a phrase of false import, or else of 
no import at all. 

The word morality has not fared better. They have con- 
demned all its family : for moral, moral agency, moral fitness, 
moral depravity, and the like, are all considered as Amalekites, 
and proscribed. Especially the phrase moral virtue , made up 
of two most offensive words, they regard as bad as the union 
of Herod and Pilate. The word moral we derive from the 
Latin moralis , which is from mo?, a law or custom. Morality 
is conformity to law, and used in this sense. But has the Chris- 
tian no morality ? Alas ! some professing Christians have not 
much. But what did Christ say ! “ Think not that I come to 
destroy the law,” &c. He goes on to show, that he insisted 
on a purer mortality than even the Pharisee^ who make clean 
the outside of the cup and platter, but what i3 within ? — Extor- 
tion and excess. The great command of the law is love : and 
says the eloquent Dr. South,* “Love is not so much an affec- 
tion of the Christian, as it is the very soul of the Christian ; he 
does not so much feel it, as he is in it.” 

Moral virtue is a conformity to the divine law, or in other 
words conformity to God. For as God is love, he that dwell- 
eth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. Perfect morality, 
therefore is perfect love to God, by which I understand perfect 
moral virtue. This is also sometimes called charity; and as 
much as St. Paul insisted on faith, he had no diminutive opi- 
nion of it.” “ Now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three, but 
the greatest of these is charity.” 

But the principal object of this number is Metaphysics, a 
term, against which an odium has been excited, and by means 
of which incalculable mischief has beeu done. Before I enter 


* “ An old divine.’ 


144 


on this subject, I cannot but remark, that I consider this as one 
of the most extraordinary controversies ever carried on ; not 
so much from its nature as from its means and methods. An 
attempt to carry measures by exciting strong prejudices against 
words, at the same time exaggerating and misrepresenting the 
notions pretended to be affixed to those words, and keeping 
the grand points of difference wholly out of sight : this course 
persisted in for years, and pursued with boldness and abundant 
success : I say these circumstances render this controversy, 
perhaps, without a parallel. 

The same things, however, which render this a singular con- 
troversy, render it not a hopeless controversy : for while I am 
perfectly assured that it results from misinformation, in very 
great numbers, I am assured, with a certainty nearly equal, that 
they want nothing but a right understanding of the case to come 
into, and adopt the truth. Whatever pride of character may do 
with a few men, with whom it may far outweigh the solemn dic- 
tates of conscience, the great body of the people have no motive, 
I might almost say, no selfish motive for preferring error to 
truth. And I am*well assured that, at least, some may be con- 
vinced that their credulity has been imposed upon, and that 
they have been deceived. They may be convinced that error 
has held an ascendency over truth, not by argument, but by 
efforts of influence from men riding on the shoulders of public 
confidence. 

The case now to be mentioned is one of a most extraordina- 
ry nature. I appeal to the people of this city at large, that 
they have been led into the habit of believing that metaphysics 
have no connexion with religion : — that every thing metaphy- 
sical is improper and unbecoming the pulpit, or a gospel ser- 
mon : and that the Hopkinsians have little else but metaphysics 
in their sermons. They are very different from the good old 
woman I once heard of, who, hearing her minister, in whom 
she had great confidence, say something about metaphysics, re- 
plied, “ O yes, I know that Christ is both meat and physic for 
the poor sinner.” They do not, however, think quite so well 
about metaphysics, as to think it is both meat and physic for 


145 

the sinner, although quite as much mistaken with regard to what 
metaphysics are. 

1. “ Metaphysics, or ontology,’’ says Johnson, “ is the science 
which treats of the affections of being in general.” In strict- 
ness, the whole of truth may be said to be divided into physi- 
cal and metaphysical ; and to say the least, many of the doc- 
trines of religion come properly and strictly within the depart- 
ment of metaphysics. The term affection, as used in the 
above definition, is taken in its larger sense, and in relation 
both to action and passion. “ By the affections of being,” says 
Dr. Watts, “ are meant all powers, properties, accidents, rela- 
tions, actions, passions, dispositions, internal qualities, external 
adjuncts, considerations, conditions, or circumstances whatsoever.” 
(See vol. 5. p. 639.) 

As it is one object of this number to do away the prejudice 
and opposition in many minds against metaphysics, by show- 
ing to those who have not the advantage of general reading 
what metaphysics truly are ; and, as I have this moment before 
me the Belgic Encyclopedia, published in the year 1620, and 
dedicated to the lords of the Belgic League, and also Dr. 
Watts’ System of Metaphysics, I think it will be useful to lay 
before the reader a compendious view of the subjects of which 
that science treats. If the reader will keep in mind that it is not 
Edwards nor Hopkins, and if he has not regularly studied meta- 
physics, I presume he will not think his labour lost in perusing 
this sketch. 

Metaphysics, or ontology, treats of being, of essence, or nature . 
of mode and form; of existence, whether actual or possible^ 
necessary or contingent, dependent or independent, whence ari- 
ses the distinction between the being of God and of his creatures. 
In the next place, it considers duration, creation, and preser- 
vation ; and, reader, is all this chaff and nonsense '( It then 
considers unity and union ; but what doctrines are involved 
here 1 It treats of act and power, of action and passiveness, 
of necessity and liberty, and of relative affections ; but is all 
this nothing ? This, reader, was the ground which the immor- 
tal Edwards cleared of as many dangerous errors, as Hercules 
did the wilderness of monsters. It treats of truth, goodness 
13 


146 


and perfection ; principles, causes, and effects ; of subject and 
adjunct ; of time, place, and ubiquity ; of sameness, agreement, 
and difference ; of number and order ; of mental relations ; of 
abstract notions, signs, words, and terms of art, &c. ; of the chief 
kinds and divisions of being, as substance and mode, &c. ; of 
natural, moral, and artificial beings and ideas. 

Metaphysics is the science of being, and there is not a doc- 
trine of religion which relates to being , which is not, more or 
less, metaphysical. Man is a creature, finite, dependent, muta- 
ble, and ignorant ; God is the creator, infinite,, independent, im- 
mutable, and infinitely wise. Now, in all these, and in all 
other affections and relations, just and correct metaphysical no- 
tions are essentially important to a proper understanding of 
truth. An idea, or notion, or proposition, or argument, is called 
metaphysical, not from any abstruseness or obscurity belonging 
to it, but from its natural arrangement with a great class or order 
of truths. 

Nor has it been a little conducive to the progress and state of 
knowledge in modern times, that classification, or, as it may he 
called, generalization, has made such advances ; and it was this 
that suggested to the great Leibnitz the idea, that a universal lan- 
guage was attainable, and would one day be discovered. 

Having given a general outline of the proper subjects of meta- 
physics, I have, under this particular, only to observe, that the 
want of correct views of metaphysical subjects is one source 
of the wretched darkness in that theological system which I 
have styled triangular. As I have said in former numbers, the 
divines advocating that system are essentially wanting in their 
knowledge of the powers, affections, and relations of rational 
beings. And, if we can admit their honesty and integrity, we 
have only to conclude that their contemptuous slangs at meta- 
physics, and the still more wretched work they make when they 
exhibit a specimen of their own metaphysics, must arise from 
their profound ignorance of that most important science. 

2. The infinitely wise and holy spirit of inspiration, by whom 
the sacred scriptures were dictated and inspired, having furnish- 
ed the proper means, has left man to the use of his own facul- 
ties in his discovery of natural knowledge; deeming it alto- 


147 


gether unimportant to arrange and classify, to distinguish and 
name, the different departments of science, as mathematics, as- 
tronomy, metaphysics. Yet the science of metaphysics, at 
least, above all others, is abundantly grounded on the scrip- 
tures. The grand and leading truths on which that science rests, 
are not the mere assertions of Edwards, or Locke, or Mal- 
branche, or Stewart, or Bacon ; they are laid down in the word 
of God, either by facts or inductions. 

“Metaphysics, or ontology, is the science of being, regarding 
it in reference to all its powers, properties, accidents, relations, 
actions, passions, dispositions, qualities, conditions, and cir- 
cumstances.” Beings, are God and his creatures. Now, I 
hope that our learned adversaries will be willing to admit that 
the Bible teaches something concerning God and his creatures ; 
and, beginning with the first of all propositions, that being exists, 
which, I think, the Bible proves, there is not a power, property 
or accident, a relation, action, passion, a disposition, considera- 
tion, or condition of any being, which does not afford an article 
of metaphysical truth and knowledge. 

Reserving the consideration of this subject to a future occa- 
sion, when I can bestow on it that time and attention which are 
due to its vast importance, I shall here only observe, that a 
great part of the truths laid down in the scriptures, are meta- 
physical truths ; and the grandest arguments there found, come 
under the science of ontology . I instance the disputation be- 
tween Job and his three friends ; the arguments and expostula- 
tions of Ezekiel ; the reasonings of St. Paul, and even of Christ 
himself. That love is an affection of rational being, is a meta- 
physical proposition : that God loves his kingdom, and that per- 
fect moral virtue consists in the love of being, are equally so. 
That men are under obligation to love God supremely, and 
their neighbours as themselves, are propositions purely metaphy- 
sical. In short, the grandest of all propositions, viz., that God 
is love, is, in the highest sense, a purely metaphysical proposi- 
tion : and the arguments by which all these propositions are 
maintained, and, in fact, all abstract terms and ideas, belong to 
the same class or order. 

That I may not be misunderstood, and to save the objector 


148 


a little breath, let me further observe, I am fully aware of the 
difference between the consideration of the affections of being 
regarded abstractly and in themselves, or in their concrete form 
when considered in conduct and character. In this latter state, 
they give rise to minor distinctions. Thus says Dr. Watts, 
“ when they relate to kings, subjects, laws, rebellions, allegi- 
ance, treason, &c., they are called political ; when they relate 
to God, holiness, Christianity, repentance, gospel, and salvation, 
they are denominated theological but they still belong to the 
far more comprehensive class, metaphysical. 

A discourse or discussion on the affections of beings, consi- 
dered abstractly, in which their nature, principles, operations, 
and laws, are professedly set forth, may be styled a discourse 
on metaphysics, or ontology ; but a religious essay, or sermon, 
or body of divinity, in which metaphysical truths and reason- 
ings are employed, is, nevertheless, denominated theology. 
But what havoc a theologian will make, who has no correct 
knowledge of metaphysics, daily experience shows us ; and 
two volumes of sermons, lately published in this city, would 
form an incomparable book of reference : of which I will here- 
after give some specimens. 

3. From the character of God, the nature of his government ; 
from the character, duty, and obligations of men ; from the com- 
mands, threatenings, and expostulations of scripture, and from 
similar sources found in sacred writ, may be deduced the opi- 
nions which the ablest and most judicious metaphysicians have 
advanced concerning the powers and faculties of the soul. Yet, 
as I said, the spirit of truth did not instruct men how to name 
and classify them, nor with what other sciences to give them a 
place. But, notwithstanding these advantages, numerous errors, 
and some of them the most dangerous and fatal, have ever in- 
fested the Christian Church. Some of these errors arose during 
the apostolic age : they have been varying their form and influ- 
ence, and maintained their ground through the German refor- 
mation. 

To them, in a great measure, are owing much of the myste- 
cism and absurdity, conveyed down from age to age, about ori- 
ginal sin, which term Calvin himself acknowledges is not in the 


149 


scriptures, but was invented by Augustine. Some have denied 
the spirituality of the soul : others have asserted it to be a par- 
ticle or emanation of the Deity, and, of course, incapable of 
moral stain, or final misery. Some have denied its immortality 
altogether ; and others have supposed it to sleep in the grave 
with the body till the resurrection. Some have maintained, that 
all the souls of the human race were made at once, and are kept 
somewhere till bodies are ready to receive them : and others, that 
the souls of the human race are one of the inferior orders of 
®ons, or angels that fell, who are thrown into a state of forget- 
fulness, and sent into bodies prepared for them, in order to a 
second probation ; and it must be confessed that much of human 
conduct favours that idea. 

To this mass of opinions concerning the soul, may be added, 
that some think that there is no such thing as freedom or moral 
agency among creatures ; that they are all like so many ma- 
chines, or automata, moved entirely by superior agency. 
Others, and they are not much more consistent, believe, that, 
since the fall, men are free to do wrong and not to do right. 
But Bible metaphysics teach, that sinful creatures are, in all re- 
spects, as free as holy ones. It is sufficient to render an action 
accountable, to know that it was voluntary. A holy creature 
oves to do right, as well as a sinful one does to do wrong. 
We hear none of this metaphysical jargon before courts of jus- 
tice, when a man is convicted of a crime. We never hear it 
urged that he did it because he was not a moral agent to do 
right. 

If the reader will turn back to the contrast of sentiment, at 
the commencement of the third number, he will perceive that 
the true origin of nearly all the difference, arises from false me- 
taphysics. Nor do I think, that even the notion of limited atone- 
ment is altogether independent of that prolific source of error, as 
I shall hereafter show. 

Nothing can be more alarming, nothing more ominous to the 
friends of truth, or more hostile to the great doctrines of the 
Gospel, than the efforts of many to Danish metaphysics from 
theology, and render them disgusting. Artful and designing 
men know the efficacy of this practice. In the first place, they 
13 * 


150 


J nfuse into the minds of the mass of people, that metaphysics 
are sometimes odious and foreign to religion : that any thing 
metaphysical is not preaching Christ. They then go on to extend 
and deepen this prejudice. Any thing argumentative, any train 
of close reasoning, however demonstrative, however conducted 
in the strong light of intuitive evidence, it is no matter, they have 
but one sentence to pronounce, they can refute it all in a moment. 
They need only say, “ Ah ! this metaphysical reasoning is not 
the Gospel.” And to the mind duly prepared by prejudice, 
and ignorant of the nature of metaphysics, it is all answered and 
refuted. There are books now in this city, there is Edwards 
on the Will, in which the grounds taken are as demonstrably 
and unanswerably maintained as any argument found in Euclid : 
and many of these anti-metaphysical declaimers, when in com- 
panies where they are ashamed to say otherwise, will freely 
own it : yet the same arguments which Edwards uses, when used 
by others, these same men, when in other companies, will refute 
in a moment, — “ Ah ! it is all metaphysical jargon ! It is not 
preaching Christ !” Thus they have found out a way in which 
they can easily confront the eloquence of Whitefield, or the argu- 
ment of Warburton. They have only to say to their infatuated 
admirers, “ It is too metaphysical ; this is not the Gospel and 
the work is done. 

But the worst evil, and that which will increase it in a geo- 
metrical ratio, is still untouched. This abhorrence and pro- 
scription of metaphysics, is spreading into a much wider circle. 
Young men, educated for the ministry, are carefully imbued 
in this aqua turbida , and they will soon cast up mire and dirt 
enough, in their sermons. Instead of reading Locke and Ed- 
wards, which, either with or without teaching, they will be 
made to abhor, they are kept for months or years poring over 
rusty folios of modern Latin, whose very style might either 
cause or cure a Tertian ague ; and which, if put into an alem- 
bic, till all their crude notions and common places had passed 
over, would come out a moderate duodecimo of excellent 
matter. 

From these lovely folios, they must next trudge through the 
Herculean labour of copying, perhaps, Dr. “ Verbiage’s” vapid, 


151 


manuscript lectures on moral philosophy, or something else, a 
task as useful as to set them to see how many times a day they 
could throw the same stick of wood out of the third story win- 
dow ; and, at any rate, it keeps them as clear of any correct 
notions of metaphysics : whether it keeps them as clear of er- 
ror, is another question. When these young men come before 
the public, you will soon hear about “ imputed guilt” — natural 
inability — moral agency to do wrong — limited atonement — 
permissive decrees — faith the sum of religion,* &c. &c. 

4. I am perfectly aware of the task I encounter by taking 
this ground, and coming out in such plain language : I have 
counted the cost, and am prepared to meet the consequences. 
I have been long a spectator on this ground, and have marked, 
with undescribable emotions, the progress of this whole business ; 
and it is not a hasty resolution that I have taken to lay it before 
the public. When I hear one with an easy, nay, careless slang, 
explode the truths of God, and the dictates of his everlasting 
gospel under the slur of metaphysics — when I hear metaphy- 
sics themselves branded as error or nonsense, by many who 
are grossly ignorant of what they are, and by others, who, if 
they are ‘ignorant, are wilfully and criminally so — when I know 
they do it to answer a purpose so fatal in its nature and conse- 
quences, I cannot be silent. 

But there is one point of view in which this subject has not 
been brought before the public, and with which I shall close 
this number, together with this series. These professed adver- 
saries of metaphysics resort to them as often as Edwards, or 
Hopkins, or any of their admirers and followers do. And, per- 
haps, it is owing to the wretched work they make with them 
that they are ashamed of the term, and wish to whelm it under 
disgrace and darknesss. I shall give a few instances. 

The public knows the uproar that is raised against the Hop- 
kinsians, for holding that the divine agency was concerned in 
the origin of evil. But have these humble, modest, unassuming 
people, no ideas about that point ? What says their Standard ? 
their almost inspired assembly of divines, in their catechism ? — 

* See Romeyn’s Sermons, vol. 1. p. 69, at top. 


152 


their assembly of divines, on whose incomparable skill and pro- 
fundity they lay such stress ? “ The decrees of God are his eter- 

nal purpose , whereby, for his own glory , he foreordains whatso- 
ever comes to pass.” And the apostle Paul, no doubt, bears 
them out in this declaration ; for he declares, that God “works 
all things after the counsels of his own will.’ , Now, according 
to the assembly, sin was foreordained, for it has surely come to 
pass. “ O, no, that is metaphysics !” Any reasonable mind 
may perceive, that nothing can destroy the connexion between 
the actions of a creature, and the agency of an infinitely wise 
and powerful Creator , who made him, and constituted his pow- 
ers and faculties. “ 0, no, that is metaphysics !” Admit that 
a creature acts freely, God ordained and decreed that he should 
act freely, and his acting one way no more frustrates the decree 
than his acting another. “ 0, no, that is metaphysics !” God’s 
decree no more impairs the accountableness or moral quality 
of a sinful than a holy action. “ O, no, that is metaphysics !” 
The scripture declares that God decreed some wicked actions ; 
and if so why not all ? “ 0, no, that is metaphysics !” Sin 

was either decreed, or it was not decreed. “ O, no, that is 
metaphysics !” If it was decreed, and the divine agency no- 
ways concerned in bringing it to pass, then Paul was mistaken, 
for God does not work all things after the counsels of his own 
will, but, on the contrary, he works many things after the coun- 
sels of some other being. “ O, no, that is too metaphysical !” 

But let us see how they talk about this matter. They say, 
that sin was merely the fruit of the free agency of a creature. 
And, so, I answer, is every other act of his, when his will is not 
inclined by superior power. But who is the author of that free- 
agency ? “ O, that is metaphysics again !” But their meta- 

physics will fairly make out that neither the purposes, nor the 
agency of God, is at all concerned with the free actions of crea- 
tures, and will effectually overturn the doctrine of decrees, and 
establish, not Arminianism, but some ism far beyond it : will 
not only destroy all true metaphysics, but contradict a multitude 
of passages of scripture. 

Some have set up, and dwelt upon the idea, that it has been 
better, on the whole, for God’s kingdom, that sin has taken 


153 


place. I mention this, however, not as any distinguishing sen- 
timent of the Hopkinsians, but merely as an opinion which 
some of them have advanced. Against this, an outcry has been 
made, and a “ strange horror” excited, because it is metaphy- 
sical. And, reader, I appeal to any man’s understanding* 
whether this is not a reasonable, and almost a self-evident, sup- 
position. If the assembly of divines are correct, and if God 
has “ for his own glory foreordained whatsoever comes to pass,” 
which is as metaphysical a proposition as ever was in print, 
then surely he foreordained sin, because he saw it would be 
for his glory. 

And what have been the consequences of the existence of 
sin ? I answer, the infinitely glorious work of redemption ; the 
union of the divine and human natures ; the most glorious ma- 
nifestation of God to his moral kingdom, through Jesus Christ. 
This is metaphysical ; but is it therefore incorrect 1 

Let us see by what kind of metaphysics this is refuted. A 
great Docter comes forward and asserts, that it is not proper to 
say that the whole plan of divine administration is the best pos- 
sible ; for we do not know but that God might have made a dif- 
erent plan equally good, or perhaps better. If God is good, that 
goodness would lead him to prefer a good plan to a bad one ; and 
equally so, to prefer a greater to a smaller degree of good : but if 
his goodness be equal to his power, and both are infinite, then the 
same goodness which would lead him to prefer a greater to a less 
degree of good, would lead him to prefer the greatest possible 
degree of good in his entire plan. As to alterations or differ- 
ences, we are compelled to believe that the divine scheme, as 
it is, was preferred to all others, for such reasons as infinite wis- 
dom approved. Our ignorance furnishes no more objection to 
saying that God’s plan is the best possible than it is to our say- 
ing that it is a good plan. To say, therefore, that it would have 
been as well or better for God’s kingdom, if sin had never ta- 
ken place, is an impeachment of the wisdom and goodness of 
God. 

What kind of metaphysics are brought against the doctiine 
of moral inability ? Why, they say that a sinner is not a moral 


154 


/ 

agent to do right, but is one to do wrong. Some, indeed, deny 
the sinner’s moral agency, together with his probationary state. 
I cannot here descend to a consideration of their arguments : 
but how remote from the general strain of divine truth revealed 
in God’s word ! how contrary to the testimony of our own ex- 
perience and feelings ! The word of God declares our actions 
to be free and accountable, and we feel and know that they are 
voluntary. All parts of the scriptures declare that God is 
waiting the repentance and return of the wicked, not willing 
that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 

The obvious motive of the cry that is raised against metaphy- 
sics, is to screen errors from the lash of truth, and from the resist- 
less force of demonstrative argument : and if certain men have 
found themselves urged to dwell upon the argumentative strain, 
it has been owing to the obtrusive and importunate efforts of 
error to uphold and extend the dominion of darkness. And it 
is rare that Satan has ever resorted to so subtile, so dangerous, 
or so successful an artifice. What method can be more con- 
venient, or more summary, to close the ear of thousands against 
conviction, than to say this argument is metaphysical : ah ! 
that book is nothing but metaphysics ! 

The prejudice that has been excited, with efforts protracted 
through a series of years, and cherished with such care and 
zeal ; the prejudice of very many in this city against New-England 
sentiments, has been owing in a great measure, to the ceaseless 
operation of this mischievous engine. The perpetual fire of 
Vesta was never watched with such sleepless eyes, nor nou- 
rished with such abundant fuel. And what harvest has grown 
up and ripened from this assiduous cultivation ? Shall I say a 
harvest of errors ? The mixtures of religion of any sort are 
hardly sufficient to include theological errors : there is inanity 
of sentiment ; there is emptiness of mind ; there is negation 
of thought ; people are not instructed. 

The New-England Sermons, Essays, and Tracts, which here 
are absolutely and roundly condemned, as metaphysical hair- 
splitting, are in fact able and unanswerable demonstrations of 
the most important truths of God’s word ; carried home to the 


155 


understanding and conscience by evidence ; and as secure from 
refutation as the solid shores that bound the ocean are from the 
waves that break upon them. I cannot but think it inevitable, 
that the public eye will be struck with two volumes of triangular 
sermons lately exhibited in this city. I entreat the reader of ser- 
mons to lay them by the side of a book of the sermons of Ed- 
wards, or of Emmons, and have the patience to examine and 
compare. I trust the white paper and conspicuous print will 
not be admitted to have any weight in the comparison, and I 
have nothing more to ask, and nothing to fear. The reader 
cannot but perceive the gaunt sides, narrow figure, and sharp 
corners of the triangle. No propitiation for the sins of the 
whole world will there meet his eye. The non-elect is, indeed, 
in one place, insulted with the declaration that he will be 
punished for not believing that Christ died for him. (P. 199, 
vol. 1. 6th line from the top.) The beauty and glory of reli- 
gion, as consisting in the whole train of lovely virtues and graces, 
beginning with supreme love to God, nowhere meets the eye, 
and captivates the heart. But, on the contrary, the reader is 
told that “ the righteousness of faith is the radical principle of 
revealed religion, from ^Genesis to Revelations.” (Vol. 1. p. 69, 
at top.) And 1 will here stop to tell him that there is one place, 
at least, where a more radical principle is mentioned. (1 Cor. 
xiii. 13.) “ Now abideth faith, hope, charity, but the greatest 

of these is charity.” 

The author himself seems aware of his triangular figure, 
when he observes, in his Preface, that there will be perceived 
“ a recurrence of the same thoughts and often of the same man- 
ner of expression.” This he accounts for by observing, that 
“ Great and general principles are closely connected, and so in- 
corporated with the results of these principles, that it is not pos- 
sible for a person whose opinions on these principles and their 
results are definite and unwavering, to conceal or dissemble his 
views or feelings.” 

I had no thought of making remarks on style, but I must 
confess this sentence presents a heap of opinions, principles, 
and results, which reminds me of the gordian knot. Does he 


156 


mean to say that the great and general principles of religion 
and natural philosophy are connected, and incorporated with 
the results of the principles of mathemetics, and that it is not 
possible for a person whose opinions on the principles of ma- 
thematics and their results are definite and unwavering, to 
conceal or dissemble his views or feelings about politics ? All 
this might be understood, for his grand proposition is, that 
great and general “principles are closely connected : which is of 
the highest kind of universals , rendered so by the removal of 
all notes of particularity, as logicians tell us. But if great and 
general principles are connected, then the great and gene- 
ral principles of religion and natural philosophy are connected, 
and so are those of law and physic. But his second proposition 
is more extraordinary ; for he says, that great and general prin- 
ciples are incorporated with the results of these principles : with 
a different usque ad , he seems here to mean certain principles he 
had in his eye, but leaves to conjecture what ; therefore, I 
substitute mathematics, and it will stand thus : <l The great and 
general principles of religion and natural philosophy are connect- 
ed and incorporated with the results of the principles of the ma- 
thematics.” His third proposition is a consequence, viz. “ There- 
fore, it is not possible for a person whose opinions on these prin- 
ciples and results arc definite and unwavering to conceal or dis- 
semble his views or feelings.” But, reader, does fixedness of 
opinion, concerning any principles and results, offer any apology 
for repetition, or render concealment or dissembling impossible ? 

The reader may repress his surprise that I dwell on this 
matter, for certainly if Stephens, or Bentley, or Scaliger, might 
give a column on a word in Virgil, I may speculate a little on 
half a page of this preface, “ quod, sine dubio, fuit elaboratum 
industria, et prefectum ingenio.” And I shall make bold to 
offer this as a specimen of the metaphysics of these people. 
Now, reader, this whole argument is false. Its premises are 
not true, and, if they were, the conclusion does not follow : and, 
if it did, it does not answer the purpose intended by it. In the 
first place, “ great and general principles are not necessarily, 
nor generally, connected,” for, if they are, the construction I 


157 


have given above is correct. They may be found in the same 
subject, but are perfectly distinct and independent. In the se- 
cond place, they are not incorporated with the results of each 
other, nor with their own results. These words, so connected, 
make a flourish, but mean nothing. But in the third pkce : If it 
be admitted that all general principles are connected, and their 
results, vice versa , incorporated together, (a most horrid idea !) 
and if also admitted, that a man is definite and unwavering in his 
opinion about them, that is no reason or apology for a repeti- 
tion of the same thought, much less for not concealing or dis- 
sembling his opinions. 

How much better would have been the author’s apology for 
a perpetual recurrence of a few ideas, had he said, “ The man 
who moves in a triangle has but three short lines to trace, and 
three corners to turn 1” “ O ye Corinthians, ye are straitened 
in your own bowels !” 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. VI. 

I have before me the Pastoral Letter of the Synod of Phila- 
delphia, dated Lancester, September ‘20th, 1816, of which I 
give the first paragraph. 

“ Christian Brethren, 

“ The Synod assembled in Lancester, at the present time, 
consists of a greater number of members than have been coiv 
vened at any meeting for many years ; and from their free con- 
versation on the state of religion, it appears, that all the Pres- 
byteries are more than commonly alive to the importance of 
contending earnestly for the faith, once delivered to the saints, 
and of resisting the introduction of Arian, Socinian, Arminian, 
and Hopkinsian heresies ; which are some of the means by 
which the enemy of souls would, if possible, deceive the very 
elect.” 


14 


158 


The third paragraph runs thus : “ May the time never come, 
iu which our ecclesiastical courts shall determine that Hop- 
kinsianism and the doctrines of our confession of faith are the 
same thing ; or that men are less exposed now, than in the days 
of the apostles, to the danger of perverting the right ways of 
the Lord.” 

People of the union, hear this, and feel what gratitude you 
owe to a good Providence, which shields your religious rights 
from the persecuting fury of bigotry and intolerance. The 
tocsin is now blown, and while Truth grasps her sword, and 
Charity veils her face, let Vigilance light her lamp, and stand at 
her threshold. 

I had closed this series, and sent it to the press, but this ex- 
traordinary letter merits immediate consideration. Shall I dip 
my pen in ridicule, and expose this transaction in the mock 
robe it merits ? Alas ! this cloud of darkness throws every ob- 
ject under a shade too mournful to admit of using the livelier 
colours. 

Do we, then, in this Pastoral Letter, hear the voice and the 
sentiments of the fathers of the church, the central section of 
the General Assembly — that august body reared by divine grace, 
in this free and happy country, and by the special blessing of 
God grown to a size so majestic, in a time so comparatively 
short 1 That Assembly, now spreading its branches to the east 
and west, to the north and to the south, with the prospect of a 
boundary that may still expand for ages ? 

Where are the great and benevolent founders of these Synods, 
and of this Assembly? Has the angel of heavenly love, and 
charity, and peace, together with them, taken her flight for ever ? 
Ye spirits of Davies, and Witherspoon, and Finley, of Rodgers 
and M’Whorter, under whose mild and harmonizing influence 
this tree was planted, unless removed from all knowledge of 
its prospects and dangers — from all sympathy with this region 
of sin and death, can you behold a devouring flame kindled in 
its central boughs, and not feel a momentary thrill of anxiety ? 

I cannot but indulge in reflections like these, when I advert 
to the character, the temper, the spirit, the wisdom of the men, 
who, under God, were the founders of these religious institu- 
tions. I mention these men, not because they were the only 


159 


men concerned in that great and benevolent work ; there were 
many others equally engaged, and perhaps some equally useful. 

The reader will now perceive the justice of the remarks made 
in the former series, concerning the opposition made to the strain 
of doctrine called Hopkinsian. In this number I shall call his 
attention to a few remarks on this Pastoral Letter of the Synod 
of Philadelphia. 

1. It is impossible not to perceive that Hopkinsianism is the 
grand error aimed at in that letter. They declare in the same 
letter that there never was but one Socinian Society within the 
bounds of the Synod, and it could not be thought necessary to 
send a circular letter to all the congregations in the Synod, 
and, in fact, to all the continent, on account of one Antitrinita- 
rian Society. An act so official and formal, for a single con- 
gregation, and that, perhaps, a very small one, would scarcely 
appear decorous. As to Arianism, it is doubtful whether they 
have an individual of that heresy in all their bounds. They cer- 
tainly have not a congregation of that order. 

Nor did I ever know till now, nor was there ever a solitary 
instance, as I have heard, of any public body, in the United 
States, publishing a formal denunciation of Arminianism as 
heresy. The term Arminian is variously used and understood, 
and is applied to various shades of difference, from Arminius, 
the founder of the sect. Few, if any, of the protestant churches 
have chosen to censure Arminianism as a damnable heresy ; 
and it has never been done, before the present instance, in this 
country. 

The Philadelphia Synod seem to have forgotten that very 
large and respectable bodies of Christians, in our own country, 
such as the Episcopalians, Methodists, and several others, are 
usually denominated Arminians. All these they have con- 
demned, in the severest and strongest terms, as heretics ; have 
held them up to public odium and abhorrence. Whatever 
that Synod may think, I cannot but esteem them Christian 
churches, comprising many members of great piety, and having 
many divines of distinguished eminence. It has pleased God 
to make the church of England, or the nation professing that 
faith, the grand barrier of the Protestant cause in Christendom 


160 


for ages past, and many of their divines are among the brightest 
ornaments of the church of Christ ; God forbid that I should 
call them, or think them, heretics. 

2. Had this language been held in some anonymous publica- 
tion ; had it appeared in the writings of some individual, as his 
own private opinion ; had it appeared in a public journal ; had 
it been delivered in a sermon from the desk, the individual 
might have been thought overheated in his zeal, and carried 
beyond the bounds of his own cool reason. But what is it ? In 
what form does it meet our eye ? It is the act of a great num- 
ber ; the act of professed ministers of Christ and ambassadors 
of God ; it is the act of an ecclesiastical court, the central Sy- 
nod of the union ; it is in the nature of a law, or rule, and set 
as a precedent for all other ecclesiastical courts, and for all fu- 
ture time. 

3. It condemns, at one stroke, an immense body of Chris- 
tians in New-England, where, it is well known, this strain 
of sentiment prevails almost universally, and that whole body, 
in its various sections, are amicably represented in the general 
assembly ; and their representatives, from year to year, set on 
the same seats by the side of members of this Synod. More- 
over, the assembly is, also, represented in the various conven- 
tions, or associations, of the New-England churches, whenever 
they assemble. But this would be a small consideration in 
comparison with another : Many ministers and churches, who 
actually belong to the general assembly, perhaps one third, 
perhaps one half, are full in this strain of doctrine, and are con- 
demned as heretics by this pastoral letter. 

4. The sentiments usually denominated Hopkinsian were 
never considered as heresy by the founders of the Presbyterian 
church in America, nor by the wisest and ablest divines who 
differed with them, in any subsequent period, in Europe or 
America. Nothing was ever further from their thoughts than 
any idea of making them at all a breaking point in church com- 
munion and fellowship. Candidates for the ministry, were ne- 
ver impeded in their progress, or censured for holding them. 
Ordination, or licensure, was never refused to a man who pro- 
fessed them, nor was any bar laid in the way of his acceding to 
any vacant church which had given him a call. Names, suf- 


i 


161 


ficient to fill this paper, are now in my recollection of ministers 
and licentiates coming from New-England, and settling within 
the bounds of the general assembly, who are full in these sen- 
timents ; and of ministers and licentiates going from the bounds 
of the general assembly, to settle in the congregational churches 
of New-England. No test, abjuration, or oath of purgation, has 
ever been imposed or taken in either case ; no dark suspicions 
or jealousies ; no whisperings or calumnies resorted to in the 
general operation of these removals in this wide extent of 
country. The trustees of Princeton College did not start and 
shudder with horror at Jonathan Edwards when they called 
him to the high and honourable station of president, although 
the heresies of his sentiments had been long promulgated and 
known. But I shall not descend to names, otherwise I might 
introduce u a list of great length and equal respectability, which 
might have cooled this fervid ebullition of ecclesiastical censure 
and proscription. 

5. The measures taken by the Synod of Philadelphia are 
pregnant with mischief, misery, and ruin ; and, all circumstan- 
ces considered, I question whether the annals of the Christian 
Church afford a greater instance of rashness, imprudence, im- 
policy, or injustice. Do they, indeed, imagine that this watch- 
word will be taken from them, and that all the Synods in this 
connection will ring with this dreadful denunciation, “ here- 
sy, and the means by which , if it were possible , the enemy of 
souls would deceive the very elect V y What are we to expect 
next, provided this Synod act in character with their sentence 
and injunction ? What is the rule of the everlasting gospel ? 
“A heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject.” 
What is to be the regular operation of this business, provided all 
who differ from Hopkinsianism shall condemn it as heresy ? 
Individual members are to be hurled out of churches ; churches 
are to be rent with disputes and divisions, and some of them 
severed from Presbyteries ; Presbyteries are to be turned out 
of Synods, and Synods divided ; and, by this time, what be- 
comes of the Assembly itself ! Its full orb will wane, and pre- 
sent a fading and sickly crescent ; “ will become a proverb 
and by-word, a reproach and astonishment” to all mankind. 

14 * 


162 


And what impression will this measure make on the public 
mind ? How will it appear to this young and rising nation, 
whose struggles for her own independence and freedom are not 
yet forgotten ? How will it strike at the feelings of the great 
and highly respectable fraternity of the Episcopal institution, 
who are carelessly anathematized as heretics, merely for a 
handsome pretext to lengthen out the rod over their shoulders 
to reach others? For it is not to be doubted that that form of 
speech, “ Arians, Socinians, Arminians,” &c., was resorted to 
merely to make the bundle of heretics as huge as possible, that, 
by a kind of indiscrimination, the censure, the single censure on 
the heads of the Hopkinsians might not seem solitary and par- 
tial ; in short, that it might appear one sweeping stroke at all 
heresy. 

But I asked, in a former paragraph, whether we were to un- 
derstand this as the voice and sentiment of the fathers and 
counsellors of the Presbyterian church. I rejoice to say, for 
the honour of my country, and for the religion I profess, that 
nothing is farther from it. I recognise, in this act, the features 
of some fierce and furious spirits, who, in an inauspicious hour 
of darkness and incaution, gained so much the ascendant in that 
body as to procure this abortion of a Bull , who has faintly 
roared once, and will never be heard again. I have no doubt 
that its authors, ere this, do, even in their closets, shudder be- 
fore the bar of public sentiment ; that they, severally and indi- 
vidually, wish that, at that moment, they had been a day’s jour- 
ney from that Synod, and employed in a manner, if it would 
not promote, that would not endanger the prosperity and exist- 
ence of the church. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


DEDICATION 


TO THE THIRD SERIES. 


TO THE LEARNED, AND LONG-LIVED, 

JOHN DOE AND RICHARD ROE, Esquires. 


Gentlemen, 

It is well known that every artist and handicrafts-man is de- 
sirous of having his work approved, both as a source of emol- 
ument and reputation. This principle operates, probably, with 
greater force on the minds of authors than any other class of 
men. For, aside either of profit or reputation, with which most 
writers have little to do, there is a great pleasure in knowing, 
that we have power to engage the attention of gentlemen of 
learning and leisure, or ladies of beauty and fortune, even though 
they may dislike our productions. To know that our works 
circulate through the finest parlours, where the pictures of he- 
roes and princes, nobles and beauties, may gaze silently upon 
them ; — to know that they sometimes repose on the marble, 
beneath mirrors of the greatest value and purest reflection, by 
which their number is doubled, or on the purple sofa with the 
lap-dog, whence they may be lifted with the fairest hand, and 
their titles read, though their leaves are never turned over, or, 
perhaps, on the elegant piano, mingled with leaves of musick, 
where, had they but ears, they might hear strains sweeter than 
the harp of Orpheus, or the melting voice of Sappho ; and thence 
come to their long quietus, behind the folding glasses of the 
book-case, where they enjoy perpetual and dignified repose, till, 
overhaled by executors, the ministers of the dead, and, perhaps, 
go thence to auction ; this, I say, Gentlemen, is food to the inno- 
cent and noble ambition of writers. And even at the auction, ho- 
nour still pursues them : for, perhaps, the auctioneer holds up a 
book, and says to the admiring rabble, “ Here, Gentlemen, here 
is a book from the select library of Lord Mumble : see it — the 
leaves are as bright as though they had never seen the sun.” And, 
perhaps, Jack Fribble bids it off, and, without tarnishing its pure 


164 

pages by one exposure to the inclement air, it goes to another 
respite of thirty years. 

Such views and feelings we have, Gentlemen, and I beg you to 
excuse the plain concession of one who is ne’er the less sincere 
for not having studied the molia tempora fandi. But we have 
still sublimer hopes than these : When a book goes from our hands, 
we naturally look forward, till, wrapped in future vision, we 
faney it, at length, to have escaped the ravages of time — to have 
survived more generations than the Pylean sage — to have over- 
lived removals, revolutions, wars, fires, floods, and worms, till its 
lacerated covers, yellow paper, perforated leaves, and rounded 
angles, no less than its antique orthography and obsolete style, 
declare it full three hundred years old. Then we know it be- 
comes invaluable, of course, especially, if age has rendered it ille- 
gible. It then is purchased by Dr. Flummery, a descendant of 
the present family of that name, which I know will never become 
extinct, and is worthy of scholiasts, readings, glossaries, and notaz 
variorum. I shall say nothing of succeeding and splendid editions ; 
it is among the old authors, and that is sufficient. Thus, again, 
it goes on, rising from dust and ashes, like a Phoenix, once or 
twice in six hundred years, and triumphing over every thing, till 
it swells the flame of the last conflagration. Animated by such 
prospects, no wonder men are willing to write in a garret, dine 
on a crust, direct their pen by the light of vellum, and sleep on a 
pallet of straw. 

I have mentioned these things, Gentleman, that you may per- 
ceive I am no stranger to the feelings of an author. Sed nunc 
ad proposilum : You are to know, that the Triangle has had a 
tolerable circulation in this country ; but the grand desideratum 
is to get it beyond the Atlantic, and to have it read, if possible, 
in England. Whether it is because books cannot move against 
the sun, I do not know, but few of our books perform transat- 
lantic journeys. As I have no great faith in the subject I have 
chosen, to give it an interest in distant countries, nor have I full 
confidence in the execution of the work to accomplish that end, 

I must rely on a dedication, as many others have done, to carry 
the book where, otherwise, it would probably never go. And 
when you understand these to be among my motives for select- 
ing you, I presume you will justify my conduct, and accept 
the offering humbly laid at your feet. 

I beg permission to dedicate to you, Gentlemen, from the 
grand consideration of your amazing longevity, which, though it 
has never occurred to any one before, (and I admire that it has 
not,) will be considered by every reader as a proper motive. 
Your career began before the reigns of the Henrys and Edwards ; 
and you witnessed the conflicts between the red and white 
rose ; you lived through the Republic and the storms raised 
by Cromwell ; you witnessed the calamities of the inauspi- 


165 


cious house of Stuart— saw the Restoration— the Revolution — 
and have known the times ever since. You saw and heard all 
the controversies of Papist and Protestant, Episcopalian and 
Presbyterian, Roundheads, Independents, Covenanters, Puritans, 
Friends, &c. You witnessed the agitations and intrigues of the 
Ryehouse plot ; saw the fall of Sydney and Russell ; the bigotry 
and folly of the second James, and the vices and vagaries of the 
second Charles ; the feverish greatness and doubtful glory of 
William, and the uncertain, inconsistent, and anxious administra- 
tion of Anne. You must have frequented the courts adorned and 
dignified by the presence of Bacon, Hale, Coke, Mansfield, and 
Blackstone. You have often stood by when the elder Pitt thun- 
dered in the ear of the nation, and, you saw the conflict of talents 
and stupidity, of corruption and integrity, of pride and folly, when 
the British empire was severed, and our country declared inde- 
pendent. 

With such experience, Gentlemen, as you have had, and such 
observation as you must have made, what may I not expect ? 
I have frequently alluded to the times of the Reformation ; 
you lived through all those times, and no doubt, could write a his- 
tory that would instruct, if not surprise, the world. To vou I 
confidently, and may safely, appeal for the correctness of my 
declarations and statements. 

To almost antediluvian longevity you add an unimpeached, 
and, of course, an unimpeachable reputation. Though you have 
been the constant attei^dants of the grandest courts of justice for 
many centuries, without ever absenting yourselves on any occa- 
sion, your names are always pronounced with respect and gravity, 
both in doors and out, by the bench, bar, clients, and spectators : 
a felicity which never fell to the lot of any other men. This sin- 
gular felicity you derive from your impartiality, which is as far 
beyond all comparison, as are your longevity and reputation. 
Your sole object is to guard the liberties and repose of honest men 
against the rash and litigious ; to see that suits, which are legally 
commenced, should be duly prosecuted, and not to suffer a man 
to harrass his neighbour awhile, and then skulk in silence behind 
the curtain. Of course, there would have been a peculiar propri- 
ety in dedicating every part of this work to you. 

But, Gentlemen, that trait which I especially admire in your 
characters, is that independence of mind which never has forsaken 
you in the worst of times, when tyrants frowned and threatened, 
nor in the softest and most luxurious, when dissipation allures 
the brave, and flattery circumvents the wise. Even when the 
stern Henry sent the lovely and virtuous Ann Boleyn to the block, 
and the worthy, but too yielding, Cranmer to the flames, you stood 
your ground, and felt no fear ; when the bloody Mary illuminated 
England with the flames of martyrs ; when the perjured and horrid 
Jeffries rendered the circuit of his court like the path of the destroy- 
ing angel, you, Gentlemen never deviated from the path of jus- 


166 


tice, and no one impeached your conduct, entertained a suspicion 
of your integrity, or a thought prejudicial to your welfare. 

As you have never swerved in storms of despotic fury or re- 
publican ferocity ; as papal pride, episcopal power, independent 
arrogance, and libertine licentiousness, could never affect you ; as 
you are always the same in the calm of peace and rage of war, 
the quietude of establishment and whirl of revolution, the night 
of anarchy and the noon of order, it is to such men as you I 
may safely look to patronize my work. 

I have duly considered, Gentlemen, that you are not lawyers, 
though that class certainly excels all others in point of eloquence ; 
and a real orator cannot be a bigot, though many of them are no 
incompetent judges of theological opinions and doctrines : yet, 
they are generally engaged in professional business, and have not 
leisure to divide their attention, or bestow their patronage on any 
side of a religous controversy. And I heartily wish that a less 
number of them were like Gallio, “ who cared for none of these 
things.” I am likewise consoled by the consideration that you 
are not popular men : tl For,” says Sir William Temple, “ come 
not too near to a man studying to rise in popular favour unless 
you can aid him in his grand object, lest you meet with a repulse.” 
There may be, indeed, contrived a reciprocity of interest and 
obligation, and then you can advance with the proper overture, 
“ Titilla me et titillabo te ;”* then it will do. But you, Gentle- 
men, are in pursuit of no man’s favour, suffrage, influence, or 
patronage. You have seen, from the raised platform of solid re- 
putation, numerous generations of ambitious men grasping for 
dominion, disappear, like insects swept into the lake, by the sud- 
den wing of the tempest, while yourselves remain unmoved. 

Moreover, you are not authors — from whom an author as rarely 
gets patronage as a hungry man does food from ravens ; for, says 
Johnson, few things can be published, however exalted or mean, 
however contemptible or meritorious, however great or little, 
from which an author will not fancy some obstruction in some 
channel of his fame, some diminution of the splendour of his repu- 
tation. The public mind cannot be more than occupied, and, as 
each author hopes to seize a hemisphere at least, and some more, 
as you see, every new candidate for notice and applause must take, 
perhaps, a share from those that occupied it before ; and great 
authors act on one another like the disturbing influences of the 
planets on the centre of gravity, by which it is often caused to va- 
cillate. Well it is that some of them do not drag it beyond the or- 
bit of Saturn. But you, Gentlemen, are no authors, homines viventes 
estis — and living men are you likely to remain. You have 
none of these low prejudices and selfish fears. You do not say 
of one excellent book, it is very well, but the author was a pla- 
giarist ; of another, it is dull and tedious, and not worth reading ; 


* Tickle me, and I’ll tickle you. 


167 


of a third, it is written with ability, but the sentiments are false ; 
of a fourth, the author meant well, but his subject was badly 
handled : and so on to the hundredth, with a but to every one 
of them. Not but that there may, indeed, be such buts in reality, 
for most human things have a but ; but all these buts of authors, 
are generally expounded by one, viz., but I am an author, which 
may properly be called the author’s but. 

Equal cause have I to rejoice, that you are not princes or no- 
bles ; in which case, among numerous candidates of patronage 
and favour, I should have cause to fear that one so obscure and 
remote might be overlooked, or, perhaps, easily outbid by skilful 
flattery, or, perhaps, by arguments more shining and solid, and 
motives addressed more home to the heart. Yet, when it is con- 
sidered that any man of wealth has substantially the same ability 
to patronise books and literature that princes have, and, perhaps, 
fewer demands on their liberality in proportion to their ability, 
it is not to be doubted that a full share of princes have been pat- 
rons of learning. 

I scarcely need say, that you, Gentlemen, are not clergymen, 
otherwise there would have been the greatest temerity and pre- 
sumption in this dedication. Had you been clergymen, and upon 
a careful enumeration of your sides and angles had found them 
to be six, instead of threatening to prosecute the Investigator, as 
some clergymen, after counting up, have done, you would, per- 
haps, have done what would have been much worse — you would 
have taken no notice of it. It is with clergymen as with all other 
classes of men ; some of them are very good men, and some are 
quite the other way , as you, in a life of several hundred years, 
must doubtless have observed. The good clergymen, which I 
hope, in some countries, bear some respectable proportion to the 
whole number, in a degree resemble the elect ; they are mingled 
with a numerous class, from which no mortal eye can certainly 
distinguish them. Few men are viler in the sight of heaven, or 
more full of mischief among men, than an impious clergyman ; 
and none have done more to obstruct the progress of truth, and 
the interests of religion, than this ill-fated class. They derive 
their extraordinary power, to this end, from their successful en- 
deavours to establish a high reputaiion for piety and zeal : and 
you, Gentlemen, no doubt, will remember the time when Bonner 
and Gardner were gazed at and adored, by a deluded multitude, 
as saints next in holiness to the apostles — nay, when Alexander 
the Sixth and Caesar Borgia were thought still much greater and 
better, perhaps, than even the ordinary apostles. 

You will not understand, Gentlemen, that I mean to fix an 
equal indiscriminate censure on all triangular men. I am far 
from such thoughts or feelings. But that some among them are 
wholly given to pride, ambition, intrigue, and wickedness, I have 
not a doubt. And if they will read these pages they will proba- 


168 


bly find a more faithful monitor, and a truer portrait, than will 
again meet their eyes till they stand at the bar of God. 

I am not insensible that many clergyman are among the no- 
blest patrons, promoters, and proficients, in elegant literature and 
the arts. But, perhaps, with an individual exception, as far as 
relates to this city, these men are not found amongst the Trigonoi, 
a name by which I sometimes distinguish them. For, Gentlemen, 
their scheme is so intolerably narrow, so frozen and so dark, that 
the mind which puts it on is immediately and terribly shrunk from 
its ordinary size, however small or great it might have been be- 
fore. For the soul seems to bear some resemblance to the ethereal 
element ; it has an elastic spring, and is capable of great com- 
pression ; and, perhaps, on that account, the ancients called 
them by the same name. A principal feature of the scheme of 
these teachers is, that the understandings of men are as much 
depraved by sin as the heart or the will. They have never ex- 
hibited but one argument which seems difficult to answer ; and 
whether that is “ argumentum ad hominem ,” or not, I shall leave 
you to judge ; it arises not from what they say , but from what 
they are. They show such darkness of understanding, that all 
the dictates of charity and mercy loudly plead in their behalf 
that it might, if possible, be ascribed to some other than voluntary 
causes. 

I have only to apprize you of one fact, Gentlemen, and I shall 
close. It has not been, either will it be, the object of this work, 
in any stage of it, either present, past, or to come, to enter into 
theological discussions, or controversies, properly so called : on 
this account regular details of argument have been avoided ; 
besides, that the writer is well aware, that whenever people are 
disposed to read for the sake of examining arguments, books, at 
hand, are not wanting in which these points are professedly 
argued and unanswerably demonstrated. I have perceived, with 
inexpressible regret, the people of a great and flourishing, a free 
and enlightened city, not only deprived of the means of informa- 
tion, but sinking continually deeper into the absurd and gloomy 
prejudices which covered the eyes of men three hundred years 
ago. This object is effected by art and intrigue, by vague 
surmises and absurd rumours, by public declamations and eccle- 
siastical censures. The public, though somewhat of an unwieldy 
body, and composed of crude materials, will ultimately judge 
correctly, when furnished with the means. 

Let the history of this business be stripped of its covering, and 
its enormity will quickly appear. It cannot be for the interest of 
mankind to be deceived : the interest of the soul, and the concerns 
of religion, are too vast to be sacrificed, as any one may see, to 
the pride and ambition of a reptile whose infamy and misery 
will be proportioned to his success, and will afford but a wretched 
consolation for the multitudes who have been seduced by his wiles. 


169 


As you, Gentlemen, have long personated the eye of public 
Justice, you can have no prejudice, and can desire nothing but 
that truth should prevail. The truth, which had made some 
progress in this city, has been attacked by various means, and 
by violent measures. While the adversaries have shown no 
disposition to fair and liberal discussion, or to put the prevalence of 
conflicting sentiments on the proper issue of superior conviction, 
they have gradually put in motion all the means which artful 
ambition ever derived from prejudice, ignorance, and wilful blind- 
ness. For many yeais past their career has been with a high 
hand, and pursued with a supposed ascendant influence, corrobo- 
rated with a pride of superiority, and insolence of success, intolera- 
ble to such as were placed in a situation to feel the secret sting 
of their contumely, or the lash of their public recrimination. 

Their ascendency was supposed , because their little compara- 
tive omnipotence was never attempted. You are not to suppose 
that this city was void of all intellect ; but while objects of a 
nature far different from theological discussion principally en- 
grossed the public attention, and while a great body of people 
saw nothing about these men but the snowy robes and angelic 
meekness of peerless sanctity, and a still greater number rendered 
careless about a religion equally repugnant to reason and common 
sense, and independent of every province of the human mind, 
cared little through what conduits this turbid stream of inconsis- 
tency, mystery, and fanaticism flowed, the ignorant were silent 
through veneration, the irreligious through indifference, the pious 
from love of peace, and the interested from motives of popularity. 
And all were silent : 


Inde toro, pater iEneas sicorsus ab alto.’ 

15 









. 












, ' , y ■ 

■ 












' 



















THE TRIANGLE 


THIRD SERIES. 


No. I. 

If the opinion of Buffon, that man is a gregarious animal, 
were not admitted as an evidence of the fact, the observation 
of every intelligent mind would lead to that conclusion. There 
is something equally grand and pleasing in the idea, that all 
rational beings are social ; and, even admitting that an intelligent 
creature could be so constituted as to endure solitude without 
pain, yet, we may safely suppose, that reason would be wasted , 
if bestowed on such a creature ; which supposition, the seclu- 
sion of the hermits and many of the monastic orders seems to 
justify. 

If the presumption would be too great to make any allusion 
from this idea to the mysterious nature of Deity, who, in himself, 
has a plentitude of perfection and felicity, we may safely, and 
must necessarily, believe, that the most exalted of all creatures 
could not be happy but in society. 

Our pleasures are usually divided into corporeal and intel- 
lectual, or mental. The pleasures of the mind are again resol 
ved into those of the heart and affections, and those of the un- 
derstanding. Some of these lie nearer the region of sense, and 
others of thought ; some seem to belong exclusively to the 
body, others to the mind. Addison considers the pleasures of 
the imagination as occupying a kind of middle region between 


17 2 


the two distinct provinces of our nature, and occasionally de- 
riving auxiliaries from, and communicating enjoyment to both. 

Beside these, and holding a higher and purer region, there are 
the pleasures of the understanding. These seem to lie wholly in 
the province of the intelligent and immortal nature. What the 
essence of the soul is, we know not ; and we can only refer it to 
the unknown nature and constitution of the soul, that the percep- 
tion or discovery of truth should give it pleasure. But that it 
does, and that under certain cirumstances, to a very high degree, 
no one can doubt. This, perhaps, may be among the final causes 
of the social principle. 

Knowledge is the food of the mind ; and in this, the analogy 
between the body and mind is obvious ; for, as the sustenance 
and growth of our corporeal frame is an object ulterior to all 
the pleasures of the palate and the gratifications of appetite, 
so knowledge, while it gives pure and exalted pleasure to the 
mind, expands, ennobles, and raises it nearer the perfections of 
more exalted natures. And there are few topics more animat- 
ing and delightful than the consideration of the means of gain- 
ing knowledge with which we are partially furnished here, and 
shall be more fully hereafter. And for this we are principally 
indebted to the gospel, in which life and immortality are brought 
to light. In our present feeble and mortal state, our progress 
seems slow, and often retarded ; yet the grandeur of the sur- 
rounding universe is open before us ; the volume of Revelation 
is in our hands, and many sublime and glorious objects engage 
our attention, and exalt our ideas. How, then, will it be in the 
spiritual world, where our faculties will be strong, acute, and 
adapted to converse with spiritual creatures of various orders, and 
in a language of as much facility as thought ? The ceaseless ages 
of immortality will bring amazing improvement — will unfold new 
powers — elicit new faculties. And then, the accumulated and 
still growing felicity and grandeur of millions of creatures, in a 
field of operation as unlimited as immensity and eternity, will 
never cease to open new sources of knowledge. But God him- 
self— God the Creator, the Saviour, the Ruler, the Lord of all, 
will be their chief good, the fountain of discovery, instruction, 
and happiness. 


173 


The question has been discussed, whether the city or the 
country be most favourable to the progress of the human mind 
in knowledge. A centre of intelligence, an assemblage of cha- 
racter, frequency of intercourse, and the influence of wealth 
and commerce on the arts and sciences, which in every city 
must be considerable, seem to give, at first view, decided ad- 
vantages to the city. On the other hand, the quiet of the coun- 
try, so favourable to calm reflection, the increased avidity of 
the mind when restored to its natural tension and tendencies 
by the absence of all disturbing influences ; in short, the leisure 
and silence peculiar to a region where hurry and bustle are not 
as fashionable to those who do nothing as those who do most, 
seem to point out the country as the place for thought and appli- 
cation of mind. 

Having, in the first number of the former series, adverted to se- 
veral useful and benevolent improvements in this city, but which 
speak best their own eulogium in the relief they afford to thou- 
sands of sufferers, I trust it will not be displeasing to the polite 
and ingenuous reader to reflect, for a moment, on the advantages 
and incentives Providence has given this city to improve in 
every thing useful and ornamental, and particularly in know- 
ledge. 

1. The commercial advantages of this city are rivalled by 
none in the new, and by few in the old world. Should the 
grand Columbian canal, intended to form a communication be- 
tween this city and the great lakes, be opened upon the plan 
of those enlightened and enterprizing citizens who have made it 
so much the object of their attention, this port would ultimately 
surpass, in its advantages, those of Alexandria, Constantinople, 
or London. Indeed, those of London are rather adventitous 
than natural. On this point, the patriotic reader will do well to 
consult the history of Carthage, of Athens, Syracuse, Venice, 
Genoa, the cities of the Hanseatic League — I mean Antwerp, 
Bruges, and, in later times, Hamburgh and Amsterdam. Let 
me here, once, and once for all, implore the citizens of this 
favoured city to forget the jealousies and collisions of private 
interest and national politics, and direct their eyes towards that 
bright summit of grandeur and felicity which Providence has 
15 * 


174 


set within their reach, and invites them, not by war and conquest 
but by virtuous industry and enterprise, to ascend. 

A free government and liberal policy point the way. It is 
not the design of government to create enterprise, to set peo- 
ple at work, or to pay them when the work is done. All 
that is desired in government is to clear the way for the lauda- 
ble efforts and operations of the enterprising and well-disposed ; 
to repress the intrusions and infractions of dishonesty, and to 
honour those who do well for themselves and the public. In 
these important respects we are favoured beyond any nation 
that ever existed. There are, indeed, various ways in which 
government may smile on industry, and touch the wheels and 
springs of enterprise, but that may be esteemed the wisest 
course of legislation which, on the whole, gives property the 
most security, presents the fewest embarrassments to private 
enterprise, and the strongest incentives to industry in the whole 
population of a country. With such a government we are fa- 
voured. 

3. The local and political advantages of this city are nobly 
illustrated, and speak for themselves. What was, fifty years 
ago, little more than a considerable village, is now in the second 
rank of cities on the globe, with a population of an hundred 
thousand people, rising in commerce, respectable for wealth, 
distinguished for industry, and not wanting, in public order. It 
must be admitted, that a more general spirit of improvement in 
the liberal arts, and in useful knowledge, would raise the 
character, and promote the prosperity, of the city. I do not 
make this remark without recollecting the respectable progress 
already made by associations of gentlemen with this truly 
noble and patriotic end in view. The societies for promoting 
literature, the arts, and the various branches of professional and 
general knowledge, in this rising and prosperous city, cannot 
be viewed but as objects of the highest public interest. These 
institutions, however, it should always be remembered, derive 
the surest guarantee from an enlightened and intelligent communi- 
ty, on which they rest as their firmest basis. Without this, 
with whatever spirit they may originate, by whatever force of ge- 
nius they may commence, there can be little promise of their 
perpetuity, much less of their future eminence. 


175 


4. The sources of intelligence, instruction, and improvement, 
are already become numerous, diversified, and great. A com- 
mercial intercourse with polite nations, and with all parts of the 
globe, facilitates the pursuits of the philosopher, the inquirer, 
and the man of taste and letters. True, indeed, the want of 
property in some that have taste, and the want of taste in others 
that have property, diminish the advantages that might other- 
wise flow from this grand scale of communication. Yet these 
circumstances, whose union is so important, will sometimes 
unite ; and where they do not, the defect must be remedied by 
industry. But the territories of the United States, embracing 
so important a section of an entire continent, and so copious a 
variety of natural productions, comprise of themselves a world 
of knowledge still to be explored, point to great and various 
enterprises which still sleep in the womb of futurity, and, I trust, 
to various forms and grades of illustrious characters, still to rise 
and adorn this youthful nation. 

5. From these advantages others have risen, which, though 
more adventitious, are not less important. The professions of 
law and medicine are filled and supported by men of eminence ; 
some of them distinguished by the first literary honours of Eu- 
rope, and others whom any professional institution would be 
proud to claim. And if our citizens feel a conscious pride and 
pleasure in the approbation which strangers of taste and distinc- 
tion express of the noble edifice in which our courts assemble, 
they shall not feel less, when those persons have visited the in- 
terior of that building, and listened to the eloquence of the bar, 
and the wisdom, dignity, equity, and skill, of the bench of justice 
there held. 

But all these, and similar advantages, are evidences of one 
great advantage, in which, perhaps, this city has been inferior 
to none — the blessings of God. It has, indeed, been scourged, 
but with speedy returns, and signal indications, of divine favour. 
Pestilence and war have, at times, cast a gloom upon its pros- 
pects, and thinned its population ; but peace, and health, and 
plenty, have soon returned. Let not the operation of natural 
causes withdraw our attention from that invisible hand which 
plants a nation, and builds a city. 


176 


With these, and similar advantages for general improvement, 
the incentives to that grand object are surely no less worthy of 
consideration ; and some of them are peculiar to our own coun- 
try, if not to this city. 

1. Youth is a season of ardour, novelty, emulation, and hope. 
Cities and nations, no less than individuals, have their infancy 
and youth, their manhood and dotage, or decline. Nothing 
merely human, and of a social nature, presents a more interest- 
ing object, than a flourishing city wisely governed, just risen to 
wealth and greatness, and commencing a race of glory. The 
novelty, the untried ground to be passed over ; the discourage- 
ments which appal the feeble, but rouse and enflame the great 
and generous spirit ; the ardour and activity which mingle in the 
checkered scene of clouds and sunshine ; the first noble essays 
of art, are thus beautifully described by the prince of Latin poets : 


“ Instant ardentes Tyrii ; parsducere muros 
Molirique arcem, et manibus subvolvere saxa ; 

Pars aptare locum tecto, et concludere sulco. 

Jura magistratusque legunt sanctum que Senatum 
His portus alii effodiunt ; hie alta theatris 
Fuiadamenta locant alii ; immanesque columnas 
Rupibus excidunt, scenis decora alta futuris.” 

2. In addition to the spring which novelty gives to early pros- 
pects and a first attempt, and the ardour with which hope in- 
spires an untried course — principles of action to which the found- 
ers of new institutions are no strangers — the noble and patriotic 
feelings of our citizens have continually the advantage of deriv- 
ing a stimulous from a two-fold comparison : I mean with the 
great cities of the polished nations of Europe, on the one hand, 
and with the rival and rising cities of our own country, on the 
other. 

The gigantic size and antique structures, the enormous wealth 
and vast power of London, that grand emporium of universal com- 
merce, upon a just comparison, will occasion no discouragement, 
but the reverse, when it is considered that she is what she is, after 
a race of two thousand years. Besides, in the complex causes of 
her elevation, though there is much to admire and imitate, yet 


177 


various and powerful principles have there had operation, from 
which every friend of humanity ought to desire a perpetual ex- 
emption. London presents a stupendous aggregation of wealth, 
intellect, and power, probably, in all respects, never equalled, 
though, in some respects, surpassed, by ancient Rome ; yet 
among all cities, both ancient and modern, perhaps ancient Athens 
affords this city the noblest model for imitation. Her free go- 
vernment, her amazing spirit of enterprise, the general intelli- 
gence and good understanding of her citizens, the splendour of 
her progress in the arts and sciences, and, in fine, her public 
spirit, which, as Hobhouse, a late judicious traveller, observes, 
enabled her to erect more magnificent works and noble edifices 
than seemingly all the kingdoms of Europe combined could now 
produce, show us what one small state can perform, and have 
rendered her the admiration of the world. In praise of Athens 
it may be said, that, though she colonised more, she conquered 
less, than any state of equal power ; and her wars for conquest 
were as rare as her defence was firm and terrible whenever she 
was invaded. 

In regarding Athens as a model, we cannot refrain from the 
melancholy reflection, that, notwithstanding the splendour of 
her arts and sciences, she was deficient in the most important 
points of knowledge — the knowledge of God and of true religion. 
Of this they seemed sensible, by their famous inscription, To 
the unknown God, which St. Paul made the theme of his elo- 
quent address. Yet the powerful minds of Socrates, Plato, Py- 
thagoras, and others, whether from their proximity to the foun- 
tain of revelation, from their general reading, or from deeper 
causes, had many just conceptions of God, and of the immorta- 
lity of the soul. Yet the illuminations of these great and dis- 
tinguished minds, proved as little to the advantage as the credit 
of Athens. What was the fate of Socrates? He suffered death 
as a martyr to the truth. The priests of Jupiter and Juno could 
not bear the splendour and convictions of that light which dis- 
closed the darkness and impurity, the madness and folly, of their 
superstitions. They urged the populace to put him to death. A 
set of priests, as I said, in every nation under heaven, have al- 
ways resisted the progress of light, and have been triangular. 


178 


Athens was wanting in humanity ; her maxims of government 
were generally cruel, severe, and haughty ; and the fate of many 
of her best and greatest men casts a gloomy shade upon her 
character. 

Several important cities will rise, and are rising, in this coun- 
try ; but, from various causes, there generally has been, and will 
be, but one first-rate city in a country or nation. China and 
Russia form the only exception to this rule now in my recol- 
lection. The former, from her unparalleled population, being 
almost one continued city ; and the latter has, properly speak- 
ing, two capitals ; one being the seat of the empire, and the 
other the royal residence. The wealth and talents, and, conse- 
quently, the rank and splendour of a nation, will generally ulti- 
mately centre in one place. There can be but one London in 
England ; there could be but one Rome in Europe, and but one 
Athens in Greece, though there were many independent states. 

Whatever may be said of natural advantages, the standard 
will not follow them, unless carried by the hands of industry and 
enterprise. Futurity alone can determine what city shall eclipse 
the glory of all others hi the union. Every one is at liberty to 
make his own conjectures, aided by the indication of present 
appearances. But I will venture to say, that this eminence will, 
and must rise, from the combination of three ingredients : wealth , 
intellect, and public spirit. Wealth alone is insufficient, as we 
may judge from its effects on the base and sordid miser, whose 
penuriousness, if it be not so extreme as to deprive him of per- 
sonal comfort and gratification, will, at least, restrict his schemes 
and enterprises to his own personal benefit. Intellect alone is 
insufficient ; otherwise, we should see men of the greatest talents 
successful and excelling in business, and accumulating property. 
But where greatness of mind, public spirit, enterprise and wealth 
combine, the greatest effects are produced, as Carthage, Athens, 
Rome, Venice, and London, have in succession evinced. 

It must be admitted that wealth, more than knowledge and 
taste, has engaged the attention, and roused the enterprising 
spirits of this city. I therefore cannot but hail with pleasure 
every indication of the commencement of a new era. Surely 
many of our citizens are in circumstances sufficiently easy to 


179 


allow a division of their attention between pecuniary and lite- 
rary objects. There are many others whose decided preponde- 
rate of taste towards the latter object would be sufficient to 
command their attention and efforts undivided. I have recent- 
ly perceived, with pleasure, efforts making to erect a forum 
“ sine justitia legisque terrore” as a nursery of reason and elo- 
quence, among young men of this city. I hope it will be ren- 
dered respectable by talents, and by the patronage of every 
friend to literature. And when it is recollected that the Ly- 
ceum of Athens rose from as small beginnings, it would not be 
extravagant to hope, that a future day may see this city adorn- 
ed with an edifice where the great masters of the arts shall 
assemble with their pupils ; where wits, orators, and philoso- 
phers shall find apartments devoted to the exercise of their 
several talents — an edifice whose marble columns will show, to 
succeeding ages, no less the skill of some future Phidias, and 
the munificence of a second Athens, than its appropriate de- 
vices and inscriptions the noble purposes for which it arose. 

3. But the noblest incentive to the pursuit of knowledge, 
and a free and ingenuous inquiry after truth, is found in the 
satisfaction, the security, the pleasure, which marks the progress 
of such pursuit, and the distinguished honour and felicity which 
crown and glorify the acquisition. 

As reason is given to man for social purposes, and is laid as 
a pledge of inestimable value, to be redeemed by suitable exer- 
tions, it is lamentable to perceive in what innumerable instances 
life is but the misuse of reason. If the ultimate end of living 
were to obtain food and raiment ; if sensual enjoyment were 
man’s ultimate happiness, then, indeed, the great body of man- 
kind answer the ends of their existence. But how far is this 
from being the case ? How little does it accord with the awfully 
interesting condition and amazing destiny of man ! Placed, if 
I may so say, in the centre of illimitable space and duration ; 
revolving with a world of people the annual circuit of heaven ; 
not even without law to himself ; bound by various obligations 
to those immediately around him, and by the perfect and im- 
mutable obligation of the law of God ; made capable of know- 
ing, serving, and glorifying God ; destined to live and be hap- 


180 


py or miserable, to all eternity : in short, a sinner condemn- 
ed, but for awhile reprieved, and placed under a dispensation 
of grace on further probation ; soon to leave this world, and go 
before his great and final Judge to receive his just and eternal 
sentence, as the ground of which all his conduct in life is to be 
considered. But free pardon is offered, and a union is proposed 
between sinful man and his Creator, through the mediation of the 
adorable Redeemer. 

Can the strongest mind, the most awakened conception, rise 
to the interest of such concerns as these '! Who can fathom 
their depth, or measure their extent ? And do they furnish no 
matter of curiosity to the inquisitive mind ? Nothing sublime 
and glorious to the most enlightened mind ? Nothing lovely and 
desirable to the pure and virtuous mind ? Nothing formidable 
and alarming to every vicious and depraved mind ? 

The future prospects of mankind are great, yet still they have 
a course of present, immediate duty to perform. Be it that a 
man is going to India to take possession of a fortune there, he 
may have to learn the art of navigation, and then conduct his 
vessel, with great labour and hazard, through a long and dan- 
gerous voyage, before he enters on his inheritance. Alas ! in 
this deceitful voyage of life it is that millions perish, and never 
gain the region of peace. 

Man, considered in a kind of general and abstract sense, is 
immortal, even in this life ; a consideration which hardly en- 
gages the attention of many a devout and honest Christian. 
Human life and existence are perpetuated, not in the same, 
but in a series of generations, which gives society a perpe- 
tuity which may be called an inferior or secondary kind of 
immortality. On this account it is that arts and sciences, and, 
indeed, the fine and elegant arts, and all branches of literature, 
become necessary. For the same reason, it is desirable for 
nations to come up to a common level of general knowledge ; 
and, while individuals and societies endeavour to rise above the 
common level, and extend as far as possible the sphere of hu- 
man knowledge, they serve as pioneers, and lead the way for 
slates and nations to rise gradually to higher improvement. 

Yet the knowledge of religious truth is as much more im- 


181 


portant than that of human science, as the interests of the soul 
are greater than those of the body. Every object which en- 
larges the mind, and invigorates the faculties, ennobles and exalts 
our nature ; and such especially is the knowledge of our Cre- 
ator. 

A due attention to our duty and obligations to God, who is 
to be the eternal and infinite source of all our enjoyments, 
will prevent our making false estimates of happiness, and im- 
bibing false notions of honour. His blessing alone can confer 
happiness ; His approbation alone is the true test of honour. 
And, since I have arrived at this observation, let me ask the 
brave and chivalrous spirit, who, dazzled with false honour, is 
ready to associate every form of danger with glory, whether a 
knowledge of the truths and sanctions of religion would not 
convince a man that God had not given him life to surrender 
it, deliberately, to the furious miscreant who might demand it, or 
require him to expose it in single combat. 

The fields of truth are wide ; they smile in perpetual verdure ; 
are covered with ever blooming flowers, and lightened with 
eternal glory. They invite, solicit, and allure the immortal 
mind’s most noble powers to explore them — to begin that ex- 
alted and delightful employment which shall never end. Is 
there not danger that we shall hereafter regret our negligence, 
in suffering our minds to be overrun with errors, when the 
means of information were near us ? Is there no danger lest 
a price so invaluable should be put into our hands, to get wis- 
dom, but to be treated with neglect, because we have no heart 
to improve it % He who best secures the interest of futurity, lays 
the broadest foundation for present happiness, since both are 
accomplished by a faithful discharge of the duties God requires. 

From the view we have taken of our advantages and incen- 
tives to acquire knowledge, it appears that they are not only in 
all respects great, but in some respects peculiar. But we seem 
so constituted, or so perverse, as not to be able to prize ad- 
vantages which are common and permanent, nor to feel incen- 
tives whose operation is general. We seem unable to realize 
that a noble action is as noble, though done in an obscure 
hamlet, as if done at the grand Olympic celebration. The 
16 


182 


charm of doing nobly, is too often derived from the considera- 
tion that it is seen, and admired, and praised. Yet who is not 
delighted and inspired with veneration at that heroic virtue, 
that invincible fortitude, which endured, silently and alone, or 
acted where there was none to praise or record it 1 or, perhaps, 
much more so, where every eye beheld it with contempt, and 
every voice loaded it with reproach. 

Though the condition of human life furnishes but few oc- 
casions to develop the character of a Solon, a Leonidas, a 
Matthias, or a Washington, it furnishes constant occasion for 
equal virtues ; nay, for the same virtues, though moulded by 
different events. The human family, truly vast, may be regard- 
ed as disposed into two grand divisions ; the one inhabiting this 
world, the other the world of spirits. Though this world is 
peopled anew once in about a century, and substantially so 
once in thirty years, yet it is permanently occupied by eight 
hundred millions of people ; which permanency, as I said above, 
gives society an inferior kind of immortality : and as to all the 
grand purposes of society — as to art, science, morals, govern- 
ment, religion, manners and customs, it is virtually the same as 
though this permanency were maintained by the same persons, 
instead of a series of generations. The conduct of some men 
influences the condition and happiness of great portions of the 
human family ; and the conduct of every person exerts an in- 
fluence, to a surprising extent, on others. These influences go by 
currents and tides ; and a nation is compared to great waters : 
immense masses of opinion, prejudice, sentiment, passion, and 
intellect, are sometimes put into motion, from a cause or causes 
which infinite wisdom alone can trace ; but does, in fact, trace, 
and, with an all- discerning and discriminating equity, fixes the 
responsibility where, perhaps, no mortal mind would suspect. 

The certainty of an all-seeing Providence, and of man’s future 
and speedy accountability in another world, and the perfect re- 
tribution that awaits him there, afford the highest encourage- 
ment to good and virtuous actions. Let no one fear lest what 
he does should pass unknown ; for if well done, a higher plaudit 
awaits him than did the conquerors at the Olympic race ; a 
more brilliant assembly shall hear his approbation pronounced. 


183 


not by the herald of the ceremony, but by the voice of God ; 
and he shall be crowned, not with fading laurel, but with im- 
mortal honour. 

But how great and fatal is their mistake, who, while living 
here on dreams of future happiness ; while their pride and vanity 
are bloated with the idea, that they are the favourites of heaven, 
are constant worshippers at the shrine of selfishness, and live only 
for themselves ! That august being, in whom the whole family 
in heaven and earth is named, regards his creatures here. The 
welfare of his terrestrial family is ever before him, not less, being 
successive, than as though it were permanent. And that man 
who is the honoured instrument of doing good to men, of pro- 
moting the welfare of a nation, or a state, or a city, faintly sha- 
dows forth the beneficient Father of all. 

Allow me, then, with deference, but with freedom, to address 
these considerations to the wealthy, the learned, and the patri- 
otic ; to those whose enlightened views may enable them to 
discern the means of advancing the city ; whos e liberal fortune 
clothes them with the power, and entitles them to a voice ; and 
whose still more liberal feelings would find their highest gratifi- 
cation in so grand an object. But why do I speak of liberal 
fortune, since a nation’s noblest enterprises are generally prior 
to the era of wealth. The Roman capital was built, which, says 
Livy, “ subsequent ages might adorn, but could add nothing to 
her grandeur,” while the territories of Rome were not twenty 
miles square ; and the temple of Olympian Jupiter, the magni- 
ficience of which nothing on earth now equals, was built by the 
commonwealth of Elis, probably smaller than a county of this 
state. Whatever advantages there might be in [promoting the 
exterior splendour of the city, and they are numerous, as orna- 
ment, when not at the expense of morals, improves and gratifies 
taste, and is agreeable to nature ; yet the erection of towers, pa- 
laces, and monuments, must be left to the impetus of great oc- 
casions. But if the most rational origin of monuments is ad- 
mitted to be the honour due to the memory of departed worth, 
our citizens seem furnished with an opportunity, and a motive, 
to bestow that honour, at least in one case, which skrinks from 
no comparison. 


184 


But there is a species of improvement attainable at less ex- 
pense than that of external magnificence, and which promises 
more solid and permanent glory. Athens, which of all cities, 
ancient or modern, presents us the fairest model, in her govern- 
ment, politics, and commercial character, acquired more fame 
and honour from her arts and sciences than from her splendid 
temples and monuments. Her lofty ruins, indeed, which, after 
the desolations of two thousand years, astonish the world, are 
but the remnants of her arts and public spirit. She was the in- 
structress of Rome ; and the revival of letters, after the night of 
Gothic darkness, was but the resurrection of her arts and sciences. 

To raise higher the standard of knowledge in a city, or nation, 
is, in effect, to increase the sum of intellect, and the fault is not 
in knowledge, or its promoters, if it do not increase the sum of 
human happiness. But the accomplishment of this great work 
is seldom the task of few, much less can it be effected by one. 
Like the temple of Ephesus, its foundations are laid by one ge- 
neration, its superstructure carried up by another, and its deco* 
rations finished by a third. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. II. 

Knowledge is, like the light of heaven, free, pure, pleasan t, 
and exhaustless. It invites to possession, but admits of no pre- 
emption, no rights exclusive, no monopoly. It is not like 
wealth, of which one may deprive another — like honor, which 
the breath of envy may blast — like power, which superior pow- 
er may overcome. The rational understanding being formed 
to acquire and treasure up knowledge, is thereby made capable 
of endless enlargement, and the objects of knowledge are ex- 
tended through infinite space and eternal duration. The value 
of gold is but comparative ; therefore, as its quantity increases 
its value diminishes ; but knowledge has an absolute value ; 


185 


wherefore, if all men had the knowledge of Newton, its value 
would not be lessened. If every rational creature were made 
equal in knowledge to the highest angel, by how much more 
just were his conceptions of God, his character, and perfections, 
by so much more would he be sensible of his own weakness and 
ignorance. 

There seems to be but one trait in the human character more 
surprising, or a greater proof of depravity, than the indifference 
of most people relative to the acquisition of knowledge; espe- 
cially, the knowledge of God. Where do they expect to go 
when they leave this world ? Into whose hands will they fall ? 
What do they expect or hope to be employed about, to all eter- 
nity 1 Who is to find them a place of residence, and supply 
their wants ? Can it but occur to them, that their happiness 
must be inseparably connected with the friendship and appro- 
bation of their Creator and Preserver 1 Can they avoid believ- 
ing that God approves of some characters, and disapproves of 
others ? 

But, however absurd their opinions, or groundless their ex- 
pectations may be, and on whatever false security they may 
rest, why should they wish to deprive others of the light of 
truth ? Why stop the progress of inquiry, and cut off the 
sources of information ? Why seal up the eyes of thousands 
in darkness, and consign them to ignorance, till the light of the 
coming world shall break upon them with awful terror and 
utter disappointment ? 

This has been the grand and favourite object of a very nume- 
rous class of men in every age and nation. And, as I said, is 
a more surprising trait of character, a proof of deeper depravity, 
than the indifference of men to truth, on their own account. I 
do not take up this subject merely as matter of philosophical 
speculation — I do it because the evil which it envolves impends 
this city. Resistance to free inquiry, and the progress of that 
light and conviction which ever follows the knowledge of the 
truth, has long been maintained and carried on with incredible 
vigilance and perseverance: I wish I were not constrained to 
say, with success bordering on triumph. 

There has never been wanting to any nation, elevated in a 
16 * 


186 


considerable degree above the savage state, in knowledge and 
refinement, a class of men whose grand aim has been to pre- 
vent the progress of truth, and [obstruct all free inquiry. They 
seem to envy mankind the right and privilege of thinking for 
themselves. As they arrogate to themselves the dignity of 
being the sole arbiters of religious controversy, they resort to 
the most summary method, which is, to bind up people’s eyes, 
and keep them in total ignorance ; and in that way are guilty 
of the most cruel, destructive, and atrocious invasion of human 
rights and privileges which ever entered the conception of 
man. The tyrant who enslaves the body does nothing in com- 
parison with this. He may clothe his captive in chains, and lay 
him low in a dungeon ; but the soul, freer than air, more rapid 
than light, regards no chains, is limited to no dungeons. 

“ The thoughts, that wander thro’ eternity,” 

defy all bolts and bars ; over its volitions monarchs have no 
power ; its desires can wing their way to heaven, and its inter- 
nal operations mock at all created force. 

Such are the soul’s inborn powers and native freedom — nay, 
more, it can soar above all outward forms of danger, can tri- 
umph over death and the grave, and looks forward upon eter- 
nity as its own. 

Happy would it be for mankind did every soul know its pow- 
er, and enjoy its freedom ; feel its dignity, and appreciate its pri- 
vilege ! But who could imagine that one man could enslave 
the soul of another ? There is a keener ambition * than that 
which aims to controul our external freedom ; an ambition to 
enslave and bind fast in fetters the immortal intelligence within 
us ; an ambition to direct our thoughts, opinions, volitions, and 
faith ; an ambition to interfere between the soul of man and his 
God ; to estrange the soul for ever from the fountain of light and 
glory. 

It is almost too painful and humiliating to be spoken — but, since 
it is a truth which the day of God will make manifest before all 
creatures, it cannot be concealed, that a set of men, who claim to 
be ministers of religion, have, in every part of the world, and in 


187 


every age, been the agents and instrments in this horrid work. 
They have set themselves up as the lords, or, rather, the tyrants, 
of men’s consciences ; and on a reputation for holiness, under the 
garb of hypocrisy, have built up a system of tyranny and re- 
ligious oppression, in comparison with which, all temporal ty- 
rannies and usurpations seem perfect freedom. The ministers 
of religion have not all been of this description ; God has ne- 
ver been without true and faithful witnesses to maintain his 
truth, and honour his name. But when Elijah was the only 
prophet of the Lord in Israel, there were four hundred pro- 
phets of Baal, and four hundred prophets of the groves. 

When the sun of righteousness rose upon the world, and the 
gospel kingdom was established, whose foundations had been 
laid of old, could it have been imagined that the meek and holy, 
the pure and peaceful, religion of Jesus Christ would be trans- 
formed into the bloodiest and most monstrous system of tyran- 
ny ever seen on the earth 1 That the corruption, cruelty, and 
crimes of Rome Heathen, would be thrown into the shade, and 
scarcely remembered, in comparison with the surpassing and 
incomparable wickedness of Rome Christian l It was so : and 
this march of wickedness began by binding the conscience, and 
resisting the progress and the happy results of free inquiry. 
When it was perceived by worldly men that the Church, to use 
a common phrase, was become an object of ambition, they pour- 
ed into it in swarms, like the locusts that plagued Egypt ; and 
the gospel, whose genuine spirit was perfect meekness, peace, 
and love, was, by degrees, perverted, and heard to speak the 
language of pride, haughtiness, and revenge. These proud and 
selfish spiritual tyrants could not rest ; rites and ceremonies, 
pomp and splendour, grew apace, and what was at the bottom 
of it all was, that all right of private judgment and free in- 
quiry was suppressed, and every man must tamely and silently 
submit his opinions and his conscience to these spiritual guides, 
who were, generally, as ignorant as they were impudent. 

The abominable and ridiculous claim to infallibility was the 
last step ; which was but the full surrender of the opinions and 
faith of all the world to one lordly and ridiculous wretch, more 
worthy of Hainan’s gallows than of a triple crown. 


188 


But, reader, there is a tincture of this extravagant claim visi- 
ble in our days ; indeed, every where visible where you find 
a little spiritual tyrant. The Reformation did not cure this 
enormous pride ; and the reformers themselves, as soon as they 
had doubled the cape, began to lay their course back again 
from whence they started. Nothing is more difficult than for 
a man, stiff with spiritual pride, and full of the idea of his own 
importance, to believe, that a people are entitled to think for 
themselves. The reformed churches, at first, all started from 
this ground, and fell with fury to persecuting heretics ; and 
where people were not willing to be converted, the zeal of their 
spiritual guides was promptly seconded by the civil magistrate, 
using fines, imprisonment, confiscation, banishment, and death, 
as hopeful means of convicting the sinner, and purifying the 
Church. — I, therefore, said, the Reformation was incomplete. 

0, how unlike the gospel ! How abhorrent from the spirit of 
Christ ! And though it surely will not be denied, that the power 
was generally in the hands of better men, yet those persecuting 
churches were, in the sight of Heaven, as truly ecclesiastical 
tyrannies as the church of Rome. The homage paid by many 
in this country to those churches, in connexion with the spirit 
and temper they evince, shows, but too plainly, in what re- 
spects they desire to see those times restored. Yes, when they 
see Calvin assembling the people of Geneva, and imposing upon 
them a religious test, causing them to swear to maintain his 
doctrine, and forms of church order and worship, their eyes, 
no doubt, fail with longing to see this city encircled with the 
same hopeful barriers against error and innovation. 

These men have lately set themselves up as the exclusive ad- 
mirers and disciples of the reformers. One of them closed a 
statement of the affairs of his church, for the last year, before 
the late synod held in this city, by declaring, in a very pom- 
pous manner, that his people had been hearing “ the doc- 
trines of the Reformation.” Did he mean, by the doctrines 
of the Reformation, the doctrine which Luther preached ? No. 
Yet Luther’s doctrine was certainly a doctrine of the Reforma- 
tion. Did he mean the doctrines which Melancthon preached ? 
No. Did he mean the doctrine of the English, or French re- 


189 


formers ? No : for among all these, as to the points in contro- 
versy in this city, there was great diversity, and they were gene- 
rally against him. Did he mean the doctrines which Calvin 
preached? Hardly: for Calvin did not teach the doctrine of 
original sin, as some now preach it. And I ask that man, or 
any man, to show the public where Calvin taught a limited 
atonement All that is nothing ; there was a hook in that pious 
declaration, which many an honest fish greedily swallowed ; it 
w as a hoax, and deserves no better name ; and that, one of the 
lowest and basest kind. Who does not preach the doctrines of 
the Reformation ? It is a term of no definite meaning, but 
calculated to mislead the ignorant and the simple. The re- 
formers were not agreed in doctrine. Calvin was scarcely 
known in the group of the first reformers, and to such of them 
as he was known, his particular notions of predestination and 
grace were generally offensive, however correct they might be in 
themselves. 

The Reformation of the sixteenth century is regarded by the 
protestant part of Christendom as a grand event — an event in 
which many millions of people take a deep interest. What 
member of the church of England, or Scotland, or Holland, or 
of all the protestant Germanic provinces, or of the protestants 
in France, or America, is there, who does not regard the Refor- 
mation as a glorious era in the Christian Church ? Yet each one 
of this immense mass of people, who have the means of infor- 
mation, view the reformers, and their doctrines, not without dis- 
crimination. They see much to admire and revere, and much 
left, as the work of subsequent reformations. 

But, people of New-York, there has been another reforma- 
tion ; a reformation in our days, in which we have a deeper in- 
terest ; a reformation not less extraordinary in its nature, or 
glorious in its consequences : We have seen a nation rise into 
a state of perfect freedom and civil liberty. Even this event, 
and going no farther, is beyond all parallel in history. There 
is a marked providence even here, which I fear many, calling 
themselves Christians, have not regarded with the attention it 
demands, nor the pleasure that might be expected. Is it 
nothing that, from the discordant chaos of European aristocracy 


190 


and despotism, a government should spring up in the new world, 
founded in all the essential rights, and guarding all the rights 
of man ? Is it not worthy of notice, that thirteen independent 
states should amicably unite in this grand project ? Was there 
any thing like it in ancient Greece — was there ever a parallel ? 

But it is said, in reply, that this was all a civil or political 
transaction. Be it so : and was there nothing civil or political 
in the Reformation of the sixteenth century ? What severed 
England and Scotland from the Roman see ? Doubtless, the 
most ambitious prince and greatest tyrant that ever filled the 
British throne began that work. And Germany was more re- 
formed by states than by individuals. In fact, the Reformation 
consisted externally in throwing off the yoke of the Roman 
pontiff ; which, partly by spiritual, and partly by temporal 
claims, he had fastened on the most powerful states in Europe, 
and had, for ages, maintained by the sword ; by which all ty- 
rants maintain their dominion. It was, in a great degree, a po- 
litical revolution. 

But has this country witnessed nothing but a political revolu- 
tion ? Has not a phenomenon marked that revolution which 
indicates juster notions of religion, and of the true character of 
Christ’s church, than were entertained by Luther, Melancthon, 
or Calvin — by Knox, Cranmer, or Ridley ? — or, I add, by any, or 
all, the reformers put together ? By some surprising influence, 
the American people, when severed from the British empire, 
carne to the knowledge of the grand truth, that all men are na- 
turally free, and have equal rights ; among which liberty of con- 
science, and the right of inquiring after truth, and worshipping 
God, are the first. Connected with this, another truth of equal 
importance was discovered, viz. that the church of Christ, being 
a spiritual body, has no right to enforce her censures by temporal 
penalties, or by the arm of civil power. 

Here, reader, perished, not only the first, but the last, the 
greatest, the grandest, pillars of popery. Or, to vary the figure, 
“ the tree whose height reached unto heaven, and the sight 
thereof to the ends of the earth,” had been, indeed, cut down 
by the “ watcher but, in the language of the same prophet, 
“ the stump of the roots was left, with a band of iron and brass, 


191 


in the tender grass of the field.” A band of iron and brass in- 
deed ! — For notwithstanding the greatness of the Reformation, 
latterly become so popular a theme, and trumpeted so loudly, 
to withdraw the attention of mankind from a much more recent 
reformation, what church, or what nation, became so reformed 
as to discover that people have a right to think for themselves ? 
What nation came out so pure from this refining fire as not, in 
their turn, to erect the bloody standard of persecution, and fall 
upon heretics, i. e. all who presume to differ from them, right 
or wrong, with fire and faggots ? 

From the foundation of the world, the honour, and pleasure, 
and advantage, of perfect civil and religious liberty has been re- 
served for this nation. No other nation, ancient or modern, 
savage or civilized, ever enjoyed them both before. It was 
reserved to be discovered by the leaders in the American refor- 
mation, that a man demeaning himself peaceably in society, 
and conducting as a good citizen, is accountable only to God 
for his religious opinions. Should he even chance to differ 
from what is called orthodox, or from the popular faith, he does 
not expect to be dragged before a ghostly Jesuitical tribunal, to 
whom he must deliver up the keys of his conscience, or be de- 
livered over to the tormentors. A man in this country is not 
obliged to hurry away to Canada, the West Indies, New Spain, 
or Europe, a voluntary exile, for fear of suffering the fate of 
a heretic ; and, perhaps, when arrived there, in hourly dread 
that letters missive will reach the magistrates, desiring them 
to seize and bring him to justice : But for what ? fur murder, 
arson, burglary, or treason, no doubt ! — O no ! because he is 
“ unsound in the faith when, perhaps, in the sight of God, he 
is the Christian, and his persecutors are the heretics. This, 
reader, was the general mode of proceeding in those delight- 
ful times which certain persons so ardently wish might return. 
This was then^he fashion. 

Neither the gospel, nor the spirit of Christ, ever moved men 
to persecution : every persecutor, therefore, of whatever de- 
scription, sect, or denomination, is unsound both in faith and 
practice, and is no model for an American. 

The American reformers have discovered that a nation is not 


192 


a church, and that a church cannot be a nation. They per- 
ceived that there was an import in our Saviour’s declaration, 
that his kingdom was not of this world ; which, if every king- 
dom be a church, and every church a kingdom, can mean no- 
thing. And it is a fact, of which I have no doubt, that next 
to downright persecution, the greatest injury any government 
can do a church is to establish it by law, that its decisions and 
censures shall be enforced by civil penalties ; it renders it “ the 
stump of the roots” in earnest, “ with a band of iron and brass.” 
But, to the confusion and discomfiture of every religious ty- 
rant, the band of iron and brass is broken, and the stump of 
the roots is dug up, in this country, favoured of heaven above all 
others. To this it is owing that we see every man resorting to 
the place of worship he may prefer, and adoring the Supreme 
Ruler in such modes and forms as his conscience may dictate. 
To this it is owing that we see no stern and haughty lords of 
conscience hurling the censures of the church at one and at 
another, with a servile s et of syndics and magistrates at their 
elbow, and a still more servile gang of delators at their heels, 
to point his vengeance, expecting, at least, to purchase heaven 
by gratifying the holy malice and bigotted pride of a spiritual 
judge. To this, in a word, it is owing that our country is not, 
at this instant, torn with religious fury and persecution ; for, I 
call heaven to witness, that a stronger propensity to that hor- 
rid business was never visible at any time or place. 

I said, in a former series, that these people had forgot the 
age in which they live, by three hundred years. They seem 
not apprised of the grand events of our times, which have bro- 
ken the slumbers of six thousand years. Soothed in the lap of 
spiritual pride, by the cordial flattery of minions whom they 
have trained to their hands, their eyes are covered with scales, 
and they are strangers to the sublime and awful providence 
which moves before us, and has lifted our country above all 
nations in her civil freedom and religious order. They are 
ever restless under these events ; they wish for the restoration 
of the reign of bigotry, and that the sun, broke forth on this 
happy nation, would return into those clouds which covered 
him for ages. As for this country, there has been no reforma- 


193 


tion, no increase of knowledge, no new light, no religious ad- 
vantages. They would esteem the restoration of the jargon of 
school logic, the sublime mysticism of peripatetic philosophy, and 
the principles of religious intolerance, a glorious event ; that is, if 
their conduct and feelings are of a piece. For it must be admitted 
that those were fine times for ecclesiastical lords and tyrants of 
every grade. 

In the mean time, they desire no reformation — no change that 
shall eradicate any remaining fibre of “ the stump of the roots 
with the band of iron and brass.” Every thing like an increase 
of light is terrible to those whose glory depends on darkness ; 
equally so is an increase of liberty to those whose power is 
built on usurpation. As for the enlargement of their churches, 
were they permitted to use their favourite arts, they would im- 
mediately gather in all the fishes of the deep — even sharks, 
sword-fish, and whales. They want no reformation for that 
purpose. As one of our little Calviniculi lately declared, be- 
fore the synod, he had had “ ninety members added to his 
church the last year, though with none of the northern Hast at- 
tending.” I fear he might have added, none of the southern ! 
“ Awake, O north wind , and come thou south , blow upon thy 
garden The wind bloweth where it listeth,” said the Son 
of God, “ and ye hear the sound thereof, &c., so is every one 
that is born of the Spirit.” That man was unfortunate in the 
metaphor by which he attempted to ridicule the work of God, 
and I shall be glad if his ignorance shielded him from the guilt 
of blasphemy, in that vain attempt to appear witty and brave. 

The grand object of these men is to arrest the progress of 
free inquiry, and to bring the church back to the ground it 6c- 
cupied three hundred years ago, when the wretched dogmas 
of Aristotle, and the peripatetics, were still conflicting with moral 
and philosophical theories little better ; while, as yet, a ray of 
light had not broken into the church relative to civil or reli- 
gious liberty ; while the very best of the reformers had no idea 
but of following the steps of Rome, in destroying heretics by 
fire and sword : For surely, said they, if a wicked church may 
persecute and destroy good men, it is very wonderful if good 
men, when clothed with the authority of Christ, may not punish 
17 


194 


and exterminate the wicked : in a word, when a church and a 
nation were considered as the same thing, and provision was 
made for rendering church-membership and privileges heredi- 
tary as estates and titles — the increase of the church being ren- 
dered as certain as that of natural population — as resting on the 
same footing. 

The men whose scheme I have described as triangular know» 
that if people are suffered to read and inquire freely — if light 
and knowledge prevail, their scheme will fall to the ground. It 
will not stand the test of examination ; it will not endure the 
light of evidence; it cannot subsist under a just comparison 
with truth. And though they look on the interference of the 
civil law, and the arm of government to crush inquiry, as no 
longer to be expected, they are resorting to other methods with 
incredible industry and vigilance. And I am bold to say, that 
there is not a spot on earth where greater pains have been taken 
to accomplish that hopeful purpose than in this city. 

I have frequently alluded to this subject in former numbers : 
1 shall here state some of the methods used to prevent inquiry, 
and to exclude the light and truth from this city. I hope it may 
be read with patience, even by those who differ with me in opin- 
ion ; and whoever shall read it with due attention, I aver that, in 
spite of prejudice, they will both see and feel that the picture, in 
some points, suits the original. And I observe, 

1. These pompous allusions to “ the doctrines of the Refor- 
mation,” are made with no other purpose, and have no other ef- 
fect, than to silence inquiry, and strengthen prejudice. Ah ! 
says one, “ I preach nothing but the glorious doctrines of the 
reformers — I am no innovator — no Hopkinsian.” Reader, do 
you not see that all this is a priestly trick 1 For how can the 
people of this city know any thing about the doctrines of the 
reformers ? While it fills their incautious minds with veneration 
for a wonderful Calviniculus, it shuts their eyes, and stops their 
ears. Perhaps, too, this declaration is made by some green- 
horn tyrant would-be, who knows no more of the doctrines of 
the reformers than of the doctrines taught on the other side of 
the moon. There was one grand point in which all the re- 
formers agreed, viz. in condemning the usurpations and corrup- 


195 


tions of the church of Rome : — happy would it have been had 
they rejected all those corruptions ; but, as I have said, they 
as universally agreed in one fundamental error of Rome — that 
intolerance and bigotry which exercises tyranny over the con- 
sciences of men. For, as I said, this was “ tho stump of the 
roots, with a band of iron and brass, in the tender grass of the 
field.” All flesh is grass ! — and, whether reformed or not, spi- 
ritual despots generally find means to bind that grass in bundles 
to be consumed with the rest of their works, as wood, hay, and 
stubble. 

But in the great doctrines of Christianity, the leading reform- 
ers differed extremely and contended vehemently. For a man, 
therefore, at this time, to say, “ I am no innovator — I preach 
the doctrines of the reformation,” is an abuse of language, and 
a gross insult to those who may differ from him, but could say 
the same that he does, with as much truth, and perhaps more. 
It is designed to cast a mist before people’s eyes, who have not 
the means of examining, and in whose minds the names of the 
reformers — even the very sound of the phrase, “ The Reforma- 
tion,” is associated with every thing great and venerable. And 
that man who has brass and impudence enough to trump him- 
self up as the immaculate disciple of the reformers, is regarded 
by a credulous multitude as all made up of sanctity, truth, and 
wi sdom. 

There is one point, and but one, in which these men follow 
undeviatingly the steps of the reformers, and that is a spirit of 
rigid intolerance and persecution. It is with reluctance and deep 
regret, that I allude thus frequently, and unpleasantly, to the me- 
mory of the reformers ; but since they are laid as the first step 
in the staircase of ambition, it is necessary that the truth should 
be spoken, and the people undeceived. I admire and revere 
the reformers, and have read their lives with as much pleasure 
as any man living ; but I do not admire their faults ; and I well 
know the spirit and maxims of the policy and government of 
those same reformers would Hot be endured for a day, “ no, 
not for an hour,” in this country. 

Citizens of New-York, what would be your feelings, should 
some leading clergyman in this city acquire sufficient influence 


196 


to cause the people to be assembled, by legal authority, and 
an oath exacted from them, to maintain the forms of worship 
and standard of doctrine he should prescribe ; and that every 
one who refused, should be utterly disgraced, and, perhaps, lia- 
ble to be banished ? Would you like it ? Would you think 
it fine times ? Thus did Calvin in Geneva. 

If, by the doctrines of the Reformation is meant, that Christ 
died only for the elect , that all men deserved endless punishment 
for Adam's sin , independent of their own conduct , and that all 
men , aside from their inclination , are unable to obey God t the ex- 
pression is evidently and hugely false. These were not the doc- 
trines of the reformers, or, at least, but a very small portion of 
them, when compared with the whole. The phrase, at best, 
is a vague unmeaning one, and derives its chief value from 
its effect on prejudice and ignorance; and that is the reason 
why it is adopted as a diplomatic term of trigonism. The peo- 
ple borrow it from the priest, and many as profound an igno- 
ramus as walks the street, will be heard to say, when he retires 
from the sermon, “ Ah ! this is the language of the fathers ; so 
they preached in the days of the Reformation.” 

It ought to be the joy and glory of an American divine 
to preach the doctrines of a much later reformation than that 
in Germany ; — doctrines which prevail in a nation whose re- 
ligious tenets are not shackled by “ bands of iron and brass,” 
forged by civil magistrates, at the instigation of some haughty 
pontiff ; — doctrines which prevail, when it is no longer thought a 
miracle for a man to rise above the more than Babel confusion 
of school logic, or the wonderful flights of peripatetic philosophy. 

Reader, is it wonderful, is it incredible, that the first nation 
on earth which has been able to perceive the rights of mankind, 
both civil and religious — the first nation since the grand apostacy 
that has exonerated the church from the alluring and destructive 
influence of civil power — the first nation that has restored the 
soul of man to freedom, and invited him to free inquiry in the 
grandest of all concerns — I say, is it incredible, that such a na- 
tion should make some progress in the discovery of truth ? 
Or, must we go back to the days of intolerance, of ignorance, 
of persecution ? Must we go back to the first crude vision of 


197 


early twilight, where no shadow is distinct, because there is no 
sunshine, and there fix the standard of truth, which no sub- 
sequent light is to improve — before which all evidence is to be 
veiled, and all inquiry to cease, for ever 1 

The progress of light and knowledge in our own country 
is scoffed at and abused by these men, it is treated in a manner 
which ought to excite the pity and indignation of every friend 
to his country, and must be regarded by Christ himself as the 
blackest ingratitude. 

This incessant driving back to the days of the reformers, to 
the discerning eye, fully developes their object. It is to leave 
the people nothing to do ; to extinguish, at one stroke, all in- 
quiry after truth, which, according to them, is scarcely to be 
found in any thing but the barbarous Latin folios of the six- 
teenth century, which few of the people, and, in fact, not 
many of their teachers, can read. I ask, whether it would not 
be more honourable, more dignified, more like ministers of 
Christ, for them to urge that they preach the doctrines of the 
gospel, the doctrines of Christ and his Apostles ? But, Ah ! 
they know better : that would not be so safe ; would not answer 
their purpose so well ; would be more liable to detection ; 
would not be so true ; although it is not a fact very easily made 
out, that they preach the doctrines of any one of the reform- 
ers. Yet it is an assertion which few of their hearers can con- 
tradict — an assertion which fills the ignorant with great venera- 
tion. 

2. Their preaching is not calculated to excite inquiry. They 
say, they preach the doctrines of the Reformation ; but what do 
they preach ? A triangle ! They dwell for ever on a few lead- 
ing points, almost without variety of discussion. A congrega- 
tion may hear them eternally ; and never be wiser. If men are 
not selfish by nature, when proselyted or converted by their 
preaching, they come out daring advocates for selfishness. 
Their three grand doctrines paralyze reason, quiet the con- 
science, extinguish all endeavour after an amendment of life, 
or to obtain God’s favour, and make out a religion independent 
of the heart or intellect. There is nothing in sin or holiness 
but imputation ; the sinner is condemned and punished for im- 

17 * 


198 


puted guilt, made holy, justified, and saved, by imputed right- 
eousness. His eternal destiny to misery was sealed prior to his 
own actions ; and the religion to which he is restored, and in 
which he is eternally to stand, has no regard to his own moral 
actions. His religion is faith, and faith is independent of rea- 
son, prior to love, distinct from good works, and is a divine 
principle. 

Their preaching to the unregenerate world is lamer than Me- 
phibosheth, who was lame on both his feet ; blinder than Baiti- 
meus, who was born blind,* and weaker than Samson shorn 
of his seven locks. They cannot convince a soul of sin, be- 
cause Adam had done his work for him almost six thousand 
years ago. They cannot preach the gospel to every one , be- 
cause Christ did not die for every one, and there is no propitia- 
tion for every one. They cannot make a soul perceive his 
guilt, for not embracing salvation, even if provision were made 
for him, because they tell him, he is, in every sense, unable to 
do it. 

When they sometimes get on the subject of love or charitv, 
they often become so elequent, and work their hearers up into 
such a flame, that they could almost tear down the houses of 
those that do not admire the doctrine as much as they do ; at 
any rate, woul d drive them out of the city if they could. With 
regard to loving our neighbour as ourself, however, they are 
very guarded ; and a great divine has lately given a remarkably 
fine turn to that precept. He says, instead of loving God with 
all our heart, and our neighbour as ourselves, that the law of 
God required that a “ man should love God with unceasing solici- 
tude, and his neighbour , as extensively and forcibly as the pecu- 
liar design of the Jewish economy , and the peculiar character of 
the Jewish people, would permit .”f How ingeniously turned ! 

Reader, where these doctrines prevail there is no inquiry 
after truth ; for as the tenets naturally extinguish all inquiry and 
investigation, the more shrewd and discerning well know, that 
candid and fair investigation would, infallibly, result in dis- 
sent. Hence, 

* None are so blind, as those that will not see. 

t Romeyn’s Sermons, vol. I. p. 105. 


199 


3. Various arts are used to prevent inquiries and investiga- 
tions of a doctrinal nature. I speak of what has been done, 
and is now doing, in this city. 

What books do they recommend, or, in plain English, allow 
their people to read? Very few — few indeed! When they go 
into a house, perhaps, they are not alarmed if they see lier- 
vey’s Meditations lying on a lady’s table. And, with all my 
heart, let them read it. Its beautiful descriptions, and elegant 
style, though, perhaps, sometimes a little turgid, and laboriously 
ornamented, render it an interesting book ; and, in general, it is 
very innocent, while a vein of piety runs through it. Marshall 
and Owen will do exceedingly ; are Antinomian enough for the 
triangular landlord. What would they say if they should see 
Edwards, or Hopkins, or Bellamy, or Emmons, on the table ? 
Or, perhaps, some of Andrew Fuller’s works, or the Triangle ? 
And the good lady, if she were reading them in earnest, would 
blush, if not tremble. Not many years ago, several of these 
gentlemen pretended to be highly exasperated, because a book- 
seller in this city published Bellamy’s True Religion Delineated. 
Some were really in great wrath, and talked very big about it, 
and seemed as if almost determined to prosecute the publisher. 

A few of their people have heard there is such a book as 
Marshall on Sanctilication, and, perhaps, one in a hundred have 
seen it ; but, alas, the support of their plan has no dependence 
on books, on reasoning, on inquiry, on discussion ! Like the 
fern, it grows on heaths and commons, were there is no soil — 
in solidudes, where the implements of tillage are never used ; 
or, perhaps, like a well-known plant which blossoms under 
ground, and if exposed to the light of the sun, its fruit will 
blast. But I hasten to observe, 

4. Care is taken to keep a host of prejudices continually 
awake against all modes and forms of inquiry. If a man comes, 
by chance, into their pulpits, and preaches a sermon leading to 
inquiry, and there are certain trains of reasoning eminently 
calculated for that end, they frown upon it, and put it down, 
even though they may chance to approve the arguments ad- 
vanced. They have a certain slang about metaphysics which 
all their people well understand. “ This is well enough,” say 


200 


they, “ for that matter, but this carnal reasoning, this metaphy- 
sical hair-splitting, does not savour of the gospel ; I would rather 
hear something about Christ.” Nothing was ever more artful, 
and nothing was ever more hypocritical. The holy and glorious 
Redeemer himself is made the stepping-stone of ambition, and he 
that came a light into the world, to enlighten every man, is made 
to overshadow and obscure his own doctrines. 

As they allow the preaching of others to open no source of 
instruction, and lead to no examination — as in their own sermons 
they trace round and round the triangle, till every stated hearer 
knows, at the reading of the text, what side or what angle is 
coming, so neither in their conversation do they lead to a single 
avenue of light. In private conversation, they affect great ho- 
liness and authority. They often make some ignorant gaper 
believe, that they can pierce the veil and see things unutterable. 
They talk about knocking boldly at heaven’s gate — about de- 
manding of God this and that favour ; and of “ keeping Christ 
to his word.” But, withal, they take care to be very mysterious 
and mystical, and while, to the purblind catechumen, their faces 
often shine like that of Moses from the mount, the poor fellow 
is so dazzled, bewildered, and perhaps enraptured, that he has 
little thought of asking questions, or clearing up difficulties, and 
perhaps no purpose can enter his mind, in those awful moments, 
but that of seizing hold of the skirt of this great saint, and not 
letting go till he gets beyond the gulf. 

As for doctrinal discussions and inquiries among the people, 
they are not encouraged — they are put quite out of fashion. 
When they happen to meet, it is rather recommended to them 
to talk about experimental religion ; to wit, feelings which nei- 
ther they nor their masters ever had. Far be it from me to say 
they never felt experimental religion ; I hope otherwise ; but the 
feelings of a man’s heart pay no regard to prejudices of his 
understanding, or the absurd theories of his brain. Bread and 
beef are bread and beef, and look and taste alike in all countries, 
though they may be called by very different names. The ge- 
nuine feelings of religion in a mind where gross selfishness is 
professed, and the grandest trait of the gospel, even universal 


201 


propitiation, denied, where sin and holiness are resolved into 
imputation, and faith is made the radical principle of religion, 
must be in an uncomfortable situation — must resemble some 
cornfields in Connecticut which I have seen, where the stones 
were so high and so large that you must turn your hoe edgewise 
to get earth enough to cover the seed. Yet I have known no- 
ble crops of corn sometimes raised there, notwithstanding. 
These stones lay on the surface, the soil was deeper. May it 
prove to be so with these triangular Christians. 

At all events, their experimental conversations generally turn 
upon the sermons they have last heard ; and from them, by an 
easy periphrasis, to the men by whom they were delivered; on 
which latter interesting theme they can dwell for hours with 
great earnestness and zeal. And full and perfect details of these 
conversations, together with all the encomiums, praises, eulogies, 
and applauses, reach their delighted ear within twenty hours 
from the moment of delivery. And how much better this, both 
for the minister and his flock, than for a set of men to meet, 
each one with his metaphysical file, hammer, chissel, drill, or 
scraper, to try the temper and the metal of the sermon ; nay, to 
try all parts of truth, and boldly dare to form their own opinions 
of every proposition ? — Hence, I remark, 

5. They neither promote nor encourage the study of the 
scriptures, nor of theological truth among their people. Citi- 
zens of New-York, and Christian Brethren, I would not lay this 
charge had I not perfect assurance of its truth, and did I not 
sincerely believe it. And if I am mistaken in a point so funda- 
mental, it is your interests I plead — it is the interests of thou- 
sands of souls, who are perishing for lack of knowledge, which 
induces me thus to encounter the shafts of malevolence, the 
rage of the designing, and the curses of the proud. But let 
them hurl their shafts, and let them fulminate their anathemas — 
I will declare the truth. Their thunders will not be heard on 
that day when His voice who speaks in thunders shall decide 
the question. Their many-coloured arts will gain no advantage 
in that court, 


202 


“ Where there’s shuffling, where the action lies 
In its true nature ; and we ourselves compell’d, 

Even to the teeth and forehead of our faults, 

To give in evidence.” 

When an end is recommended as worthy to be attained, is it 
not usual to recommend and set on foot the means of attain- 
ment? How do they promote the study of the scriptures? 
What methods do they propose ? — None ! absolutely none ! 
A man’s name may be heard afar, and his pride may be 
gratified, by becoming a distinguished leader even in a na- 
tional Bible Society, while his stated hearers and church mem- 
bers may be ignorant of the Bible. I highly approve of a 
national BiMe Society ; and I would to God, that every 
church in this city were a bible society, in a far stricter sense : 
which they are not. But the fault primarily and principally 
is not theirs ; it is the fault of those by whose artful manage- 
ment that fairest book of knowledge is overlooked. Be not 
mistaken, Reader: admiring a fine sermon, or praising the 
piety and talents of a popular preacher, implies no knowledge 
of the Bible. 

They institute an abundance of prayer meetings , to which 
I shall certainly make no objection. But “ men ought to pray 
everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting.” 
“ When thou prayest enter into thy closet,” said the divine 
teacher. Every one knows that it is less necessary for men to 
assemble for purposes of prayer than of intelligence and in- 
struction. Prayer is the soul’s desire, going to God ; and what- 
ever justness of form, or force of elocution, we may use, or may 
be used in our hearing, a man prays for nothing but what he de- 
sires. I say nothing against public prayers — nothing against 
forms of prayer, which I have often heard with delight, affection, 
and, I hope, with consentaneous desire. But without knowledge 
the heart cannot be good ; and these are select means and salu- 
tary institutions for promoting knowledge. 

It is the remark of Addison, than whom few men possessed 
a sounder intellect, that he never heard six men of common 
understanding give their opinions deliberately on any subject, 
however familiar, without gaining some new idea. Six men of 


203 


ordinary capacity and information, who shall sit down, for an 
evening hour’s conversation, shall read six verses in the gos- 
pel, and give their opinions distinctly and in rotation, upon each 
verse ; canvassing each other’s opinions, raising and solving ob- 
jections with the freedom, simplicity, and kindness of Christians 
— marking their application to, and influence on conduct, and 
they shall retire instructed and edified, probably more than from 
hearing an ordinary judicious sermon. They surely cannot 
come up with Dr. Campbell, that prince of biblical critics. They 
cannot produce an elegant and learned dissertation on the dif- 
ferent shades of the meaning of the terms kerusso , euagelixo , 
and didasko ; they cannot show that the plural of aiabolos does 
not mean devils, or that diabolai signifies nothing worse than tat- 
tling old women. They have not oriental learning to carry them 
back to the Talmuds, and Targums, to the ancient copies and 
versions, neither can they collate so many of the different read- 
ings, or so many of the strange and ridiculous expositions of 
old writers , as to render the plainest passage of the Bible ob- 
scure and unintelligible. They cannot quote Rab. Sol. Ben 
Jarchi, Kennicottius, Father Simon, Gosselinus nor Rambaggius. 

The Bible abounds in plain truth, expressed in a manner 
adapted to the meanest capacity ; in this it surpasses any book 
that ever was written. The greatest reader with whom I was ever 
acquainted, once remarked to me, that he had often been sur- 
prised to perceive, when he came to read expositors and anno- 
tators, in how many instances his first and most childish appre- 
hensions of the meaning of scripture had been confirmed, and 
in how few instances his first and earliest notions of the mean- 
ing of the Bible, whether obtained from the conversation of his 
parents, or from his own almost involuntary reflections, had been 
discovered to be incorrect. 

Errors in doctrine do not generally originate from mere in- 
advertent misconceptions of scripture, but from far more cul- 
pable causes. Learning and ingenuity have had a large share 
in corrupting divine truth. When a man of great talents has a 
favorite theory to make out, what must he do ? He runs through 
the Bible, and like the tyrant who stretched or clipped his guests 


204 


to suit them to his bedstead, he effectually stretches or clips every 
adverse passage till it suits him : he confuses the perspicuous, 
distorts proportion, penumbrates the luminous, illustrates the ob- 
scure ; breaks the neck of one passage to straighten it, of another 
to crook it ; clothes one passage with as many glosses as the 
daughter of Aurengzeebe wore suits of imperial gauze, and scaiths 
another as the morbid dissector does his subject, to lay bare the 
muscles: — in fine, his theory is his line, which he stretches upon 
the Bible, and, like a master workman, raises or depresses, ad- 
vances or retreats, every part till it hits the line. The work 
is done ; and he has displayed great learning and equal talents, 
with which the reader is charmed, and no less awed by his autho- 
rity and name. He has done it with a master’s hand, and perhaps 
it might require learning and talents equal to his own to confute 
him. 

Men admire, and the world follows him ; but, reader, if God’s 
word were like the human body, it would bleed under his hand 
in every part, and suffer pain in every member. By these me- 
thods, every doctrine of the Roman, the Greek, the Arminian, 
the Antinomian, is made out. But the word of God is not such 
a book as can naturally lead to this infinite confusion of 
opinions. It is ambition and selfishness that do the work. When 
the day of God shall pour resistless light on every understand- 
ing, men shall see that their errors have been the offspring of 
pride and wilful blindness. 

Every man is ready to say, u show me that I am wrong, and 
I will reform.” But, alas ! when errors have become popular, 
supported by great names, beautified and adorned by wealth 
and fashion, and fortified and defended by prejudice, passion, 
influence, and power, who is willing to see them in the light of 
error ? Who has fortitude to meet the frowns of the powerful, 
the censure of those reputed for wisdom, the contempt of the 
learned, and the hatred or pity of the multitude ? Barriers 
these, through which few can break. Here lies the strength of 
error, and the strongest bulwark against reformation. Errors 
are generally weak in themselves, far less supported by reason 
or evidence than truth; but they derive gigantic force from 


205 

their agreeableness to the mind, and from the difficulty there is in 
resisting the multitude. 

I am no enemy to biblical criticism ; I would be quite willing 
that our masters and professors in that noble science had ten 
times more of it than they have. I do not think them yet mad 
through much learning ; yet I am aware that biblical criticism, as 
a profession, and as a science, may assume an attitude so impos- 
ing ; may be so managed as to check, discourage, and crush the 
taste and spirit of inquiry into the import of the scriptures in 
the great body of the people. A.nd I have seen, with inexpressi- 
ble regret and disgust, that the professed expositors of the Bible, 
in this city, do artfully carry that business with so lofty and 
mysterious a hand, that the people, without knowing it, are 
led to regard the Bible, except when its meaning is dealt out to 
them in precious morsels by their teachers, as an almost sealed 
book. 

I ask every reflecting man whether a wise nation will surrender 
up their liberties at the discretion of their rulers, because those 
rulers are wise and virtuous men ? If they do, they are a ruined 
people ; and this has been the ruin and downfall of all free gov- 
ernments. But how much more so has it ruined the church of 
Christ ! When mankind surrender their understandings and con- 
sciences, without examination, to a set of men, they never more 
deserve to be entrusted with understandings, since they refuse to 
use them in the grandest of all concerns for which an understand- 
ing is given, or can be of use. 

The moral maxims of vital importance to human happiness, 
the great body of practical wisdom, and, indeed, all the grand 
truths essential to salvation, are made perfectly plain in the 
Bible. But that which never engages the attention cannot be 
known, however plain it is made. Nothing can sufficiently en- 
gage the attention which is not made the subject qf thought, 
reflection, conversation, and discussion. Conversation with a 
familiar friend, expressing our own conceptions and views of 
a subject, is the only way in which we become acquainted 
with that subject. Why is it necessary that ministers of re- 
ligion should have about them such a vast apparatus of learn- 
ing — should know so much and so accurately about theology ? 

18 


206 


Is it merely to make a splendid show, and now and then come 
out and dazzle and astonish their hearers with the pomp of 
their erudition? Doubtless; if we may judge from the con- 
duct of many. Of what use is it if a man is looked upon as a 
walking, moving mass of divinity, if it must live and die in 
his carcass, and his infatuated admirers goon gazing and ad- 
miring him for his great knowledge, while they, alas ! are 
comparatively ignorant, sleek and easy, as the horses that drag 
their carriage ? 

One grand reason why it is useful for a clergyman to possess 
great knowledge is, that he may communicate that knowledge 
and take measures that his people may also excel in knowledge, 
which I hesitate not to declare is not done at all, or most miser- 
ably done, by many in this city. 

I have said the study of the scriptures, and the discussion 
of scripture doctrines, among the people at large, is not encour- 
aged in this city. Who has taken any vigorous measures for 
the attainment of that object? What associations were ever 
formed among the people, and what progress made. So far 
from it, I venture to affirm, that, were any one of all these tri- 
angular pontiffs to discover, that a large number of his most 
judicious hearers had associated together, to meet once a week, 
to read the scriptures, and discuss doctrinal points, he would feel 
the greatest alarm, and would take immediate measures to sup- 
press it. I put it to the consciences of those gentlemen that I 
speak the truth. Yes, they would feel much alarm, and with 
much reason : for so sure as the sun gives light, should the re- 
ligious people of this city take a simultaneous determination to 
“ read the scriptures daily,” and, like the noble Bereans, examine 
for themselves, “ whether these things be so,” this wretched 
triangular, limited, contracted scheme of Antinomian selfishness 
would vanish away. 

No : there are no such associations. — And whilst there is not 
a nobler object for which an association could be formed ; whilst 
there are missionary societies, charitable societies, praying so- 
cieties, Sunday school societies, Bible societies, there are no 
societies, amongst rich or poor, male or female, old or young, 


207 


pious or impious, for reading and understanding that invaluable 
book ; for discussing and understanding those glorious and aw- 
ful, those sublime and venerable, doctrines on which man’s eter- 
nal felicity depends. They are willing, it seems, that people 
should pray, and give their money bountifully ; that they should 
send Bibles to the Heathen, but do they wish them, in earnest, 
to take up that Bible, and adopt the only true and vigorous 
methods of understanding it ? “I trow not.” 

A nobler amusement, a richer repast for the mind, an exer- 
cise better adapted to invigorate the faculties, enlarge the un- 
derstanding, to amalgamate different minds, and conflicting 
opinions, cannot be devised. And the progress which the 
mind makes in these exercises is delightful and surprising. “ I 
will speak,” said Elihu, “ that I may be refreshed.” The mind, 
like the body, is invigorated by exercise ; and if never exer- 
cised it is ever feeble and unformed. Six men, as I said above, 
who shall give their opinions on but six verses of the scriptures, 
however weak they may appear, at first, will, in a little time 
acquire facility by repeated efforts, system and arrangement by 
previous reflection, and from those very words, which they 
have heard pronounced hundreds of times, without awakening 
a single idea, new thoughts will occur, new beauties will expand, 
and important knowledge will be gained. It is well known 
that the human mind will improve in nothing to which it is 
made but the passive spectator. And this remark applies with 
greater force to that species of instruction derived from hearing. 
The habitual and orderly expression of our own thoughts, at 
stated periods, invigorates the powers of association and com- 
bination, fixes the mind to its object, assists comparison and de- 
duction, while the mind resembles the distaff, and the discourse 
the hand which draws out the thread. 

But, alas ! if self-evident truth fails of any effect, if the no- 
blest motives are without force against a tide of prejudice, and 
against the influence of a set of men, who patrole every street, 
and stand, arrectis auribus , at every corner, catching the undu- 
lations of every whisper, and forestalling the incipient symptoms 
of conviction, in vain do I dwell on this theme. Nevertheless, 


/• 


f! 


208 


it will not disturb the repose of my dying pillow, that I have 
lifted my voice while others were silent ; that I have incurred 
the resentment of those whose friendship will prove more for- 
midable to thousands than their enmity can be to one. 

With few words I shall close this number. I have stated 
some of the methods used to prevent any disposition to inquire 
after truth, any taste for doctrinal discussion ; and, combining 
with other, and, perhaps, accidental causes, they have rendered 
it altogether unfashionable. The very taste for such conversa- 
tion, reading, reflection, and pursuit, is extirpated, and there 
may also be clearly perceived in it the operaiion of judicial 
blindness. It is in the nature of man to love darkness rather than 
light, because his deeds are evil. 

But [there is one other method more recently resorted to, to 
which I shall briefly advert. The sword is drawn, and the point 
of ecclesiastical censure is now fairly presented and opposed to 
the breast of every one who dares to deviate from what these 
divines term orthodoxy. In the last number of the last series, 
I noticed the pastoral letter of the synod of Philadelphia, in 
which Hopkinsian tenets are denounced as heresy. They have 
also fairly past a test act by which every minister licentiate is 
to be examined touching those points, and if found a Hopkin- 
sian, is to be rejected. I noticed in the first series the expulsion 
of Mr. D from a seminary in this city, because he advoca- 

ted those sentiments ; and the same man whose signature 
adorned that disgraceful act of expulsion, has very lately, in a 
missionary society of this city, exerted his influence successfully 

against Mr. C , and procured his rejection as a missionary, 

on the charge of his not being sound in the faith ; although one 
third of the board of directors of the society agree in sentiments 
with Mr. C . 

This gentleman is becoming famous on the list of bigotry 
and intolerance, and it is fitting that his official conduct be held 
up to public observation. Neither ought the reader to imagine 
that I am actuated by mere gratuitous malice in calling his at- 
tention to such conduct. The people of this country, and of 
this city in special, ought to study the fable of the shepherd’s 


209 


boy and the wolves. They have in fact, so often, and so long, 
heard the cry of wolves : they have heard the cry of Tyranny ! 
Tyranny ! from all quarters, from all parties, till they have grown 
callous to the cry ; yet wolves will come at last. 

The people ought to be apprised, that the points of doctrine, 
so recently censured by these men as heresy, have never been 
considered, in any part of this country, as a bar to communion, 
or as a wall of separation between Christians, as individuals or as 
churches. They are not so considered in the churches of Eng- 
land or Scotland, nor, indeed, by any of the protestant churches 
in Europe, except where mingled with other matters which involve 
religious order and discipline. 

Is it a happy omen — does it promise well to the Christian 
church, in this country, that such a bigoted and intolerant spirit 
should now begin to show its deformed features and cloven 
foot 1 Is it best for individuals, and churches, and Presbyteries, 
and Synods — nay, for different denominations and sects, to begin 
to hurl their censures and anathemas at one another ? Shall 
Bible and Missionary Societies, generally embracing denomina- 
tions of different sentiments, turn from their great object, and 
fall upon their own members with base invectives and furious 
anathemas ? Yes: — this, it seems, is now to be done, and a grand 
specimen was recently given, as already noticed, in which a young 
licentiate of most unblemished morals, exemplary piety, and pro- 
mising talents, was rejected as a missionary, and condemned as 
unsound in the faith. 

This hopeful business was managed, and violently carried 
through, though one third of the members of the board agreed 
in doctrine with Mr. C. by the same man who aided, or rather 
was principal, in D.’s expulsion. I ask the candid and well-dis- 
posed of all denominations, of all orders, whether such a man 
can be regarded in any other light than as a blind, haughty, and 
furious bigot 1 I ask the disinterested reader what sort of min- 
istry, that will be, trained up in his maxims, formed from his pre- 
cepts and examples ? nor will they need to wait his falling man- 
tle, to imbibe a double portion of his spirit : For that is a spirit, 
into which “ Non docti , sed nati , non institute sed imbuti sumus 
18 * 


210 


There is no privilege, it would seem, no honour, no public 
nor private advantage, to be derived from that equal considera- 
tion, reciprocity of iudulgence and charity, equality of rank and 
immunity, which all religious sects hold in the eye of our free 
and excellent constitution, and are thereby required to hold in 
the eye of each other. From this soil of liberty and justice, 
watered by the blood of patriots, is now to spring up, not a 
crop of warriors, where dragon’s teeth had been sown, but a 
race of stern, unrelenting, religious despots, who are to change 
the order of things in this country. And as property and lucra- 
tive stations are primary objects with them, they will seize, if 
possible, on the great cities, and fix their triangular iron box on 
every pericranium they can allure, flatter, babble, or frighten 
into it ; and if any one throws it off, ah ! a heretic ! a here- 
tic ! “ unsound in the faith !” “ rotten at the core !” And could 
they have but the syndics and civil magistrates to second their 
pious endeavours, and carry home their holy censures, what 
reformations we should have ! we should quickly see the days of 
the Reformers return ; and there would be none of the “ northern 
storm” in all this. No ! but frequent blasts from a hotter and 
more murky region. 

Whoever shall read this number, and shall judge that the se- 
verity of the remarks are disproportioned to the requisition of 
the occasion, will do well to consider the grand theme repeated 
by the voice of the union herself, at every anniversary of our 
independence. Why did our forefathers leave the shores 
of Europe, and encounter the perils of the deep — the dangers 
and privations of the wilderness ? Liberty of conscience was 
one grand motive. Here, under a guiding providence, they 
planted the Tree of Liberty, and by the suns and showers of 
heaven, it has grown to a majestic size. Whoever opposes 
the censures of the church to freedom of opinion and private 
judgment, in the manner these men have done, is a religious ty- 
rant, and sins against the highest privilege of the nation ; and 
had our civil rulers no more discretion and virtue than he has, 
our land, from being a land of freedom and happiness, would 
become an Aceldama — a field of blood. 


211 


Reader, you hear, in these pages the voice of a single, ob- 
scure, unknown, individual. You can, with ease, slight and 
spurn it. With ease can you tear the unfinished page, or hurl 
the book into the flames, as the infatuated king of Judah did the 
message of the prophet. But you will perceive that that rash act 
did not save his country, nor himself ; neither will a similar act 
prevent or procrastinate the evils which impend. Had public bo- 
dies a consciousness, and could the religious community of this 
vast country speak, as saith the prince of orators, “ Si ilia , una 
voce , loqueretur ,” she would bewail, with tears, the ingratitude of 
her children ; she would express her indignation, in a language 
suitable to her dignity, at those who envy others the blessings 
they derive from her ; and her contempt at the impotent ambition 
which claims powers which she never granted. But she would 
perceive these daring attempts, generally made by strangers to 
her blood, and aliens to her free and noble spirit : — exotics, 
which, withering in their native soil and climate, have been 
transplanted hither, to fatten on the credulity of the simple, to 
prove the virtue of the upright, and to punish the ingratitude of 
the wicked. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. III. 

I have said, in the preceding number, that the people in this 
city, who listen to a certain strain of preaching, which I have 
styled triangular, are not well instructed in the great doctrines 
of Christianity. I do not say this without a due consideration 
of the allegation it imports; and I am fully aware, that to the 
candid mind of persons at a'distance, or to the incautious on 
the spot, it may appear too severe. It shall be the business of 
this number to make good the ground here assumed. 

The instructions given are incorrect in their nature, deficient 
in their extent, and tend to extinguish rather than excite inquiry. 


v 


212 


Two volumes of sermons have lately been published in the 
city.* These sermons I offer as documents to prove the first 
part of this charge, viz. that incorrect instructions are given. 
When a man comes out in two large volumes of sermons, in a 
great and polished city, we have some reason to believe he has 
selected his ablest productions.! The third sermon of vol. I. is 
entitled “ The glory of a nation.” Page 104 — 5, this writer 
observes : 

“ We shall first examine their laws, (the Hebrew) confining 
ourselves, however, to a few general notices. 

“ In these laws, the great principles of moral duty are pro- 
mulgated with a solemnity suited to their high pre-eminence. 
Love to God, with unceasing solicitude, and love to our neigh- 
bour, as extensively and forcibly as the peculiar design of the 
Jewish economy, and the peculiar character of the Jewish people 
would permit, are enjoined .” 

On these two commands, says Christ, hang all the law and 
the prophets ; and they doubtless comprise the soul and es- 
sence of all religion ; “ for,” saith the Apostle John, he that 
loveth is born of God : and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in 
God, and God in him.” 

But was ever such a definition given of the law of God as 
our divine here gives? — a definition so poor, so meagre and 
wretched? — a definition which tarnishes, nay, abolishes the di- 
vine law? I think a common school boy will perceive its hol- 
lowness : a person nourished from youth on the amor sui will 
even be shocked to read it. Who ever heard of loving God 
with “ solicitude ?” The first and grand import of solicitude is 
anxiety, which consists in a perturbed, depressed, fluctuating, 
fearful, and painful state of mind. Never was there a more ill 
chosen term to delineate the holy and glorious affection of per- 
fect love, which God’s law requires. “ Perfect love casteth out 
fear “ And herein,” says John, “ is our love made perfect that 
we may have boldness in the day of judgment.” But does not 

♦ Dr. Romeyn’s. 

t A great writer says, that a man must be tall at 20, beautiful at 30, rich 
at 40, and wise at 50 ; or else never tall, beautiful, rich, or wise. The author 
of the sermons ought not to be far from wise. 


213 

the law require perfect, supreme love to God, an affection free 
from a 11 solicitude ? 

S elfish love to God is indeed full of solicitude — full of anxie- 
ty, because it is grounded on nothing but an expectation of 
benefit ; and as the selfish man has no certain evidence that 
God will continue to do him good, nothing is so faint, so waver- 
ing, so full of anxiety, as his love to God. 

But the second part of this definition is still, if possible, more 
extraordinary. This writer tells us, that the law requires a man 
“ to love his neighbour as extensively and forcibly as the peculiar 
design of the Jewish economy , and the peculiar character of the 
Jewish people would permit. It seems, then, that a man’s love to 
his neighbour is to be regulated by two considerations, 1st. 
The peculiar design of the Jewish economy , and 2d. The peculiar 
character of the Jewish people. In the name of all that is mar- 
vellously absurd, I desire to know what connexion a man’s 
love to his neighbour has with the peculiar design of the Jewish 
economy, and which way this wonderful definition points? If 
any definition or exposition of the spirit of the moral law ever 
merited for a man the epithet of Antinomian , surely this defini- 
tion does for its author. For the peculiar design of the Jewish 
economy being long ago accomplished, that economy was 
brought to an end ; and with it a man’s obligation to love his 
neighbour, according to this profound expositor. 

But even while that economy lasted, what does this defini- 
tion make out concerning the extent and force of a man’s love 
to his neighbour ? — “ As extensively and forcibly,” says the wri- 
ter, “ as the peculiar design of the Jewish economy would per- 
mit.” Captain Cook sailed as far south as the fields of ice would 
permit : — they stopped his progress. So, it seems, the Jews were 
not allowed to love one another any more than their peculiar 
economy could permit. In their peculiar economy they found 
a barrier, at which they might tack about, from love to hatred, 
as suddenly as Cook did when he met the fields of ice. If the 
expression does not imply this, it implies nothing. But, alas ! 
since the Jewish economy is abolished, and its peculiar designs 
accomplished, men may now love as much or as little as they 
please ; and love now makes no part of religion. 


214 


Let not the reader make up his mind too suddenly, that I 
overstrain the writer’s meaning ; for I will show him, before I 
have done, that all this is intended by this able expositor of the 
divine law. 

Had the learned Doctor been contented with one definition, or, 
rather, with setting up one barrier against the letter and spirit of 
the law of God — had he been satisfied with limiting and abol- 
ishing the obligation of love to our neighbour, w r ith the Jewish 
economy, he would simply have justified his classification with 
the boldest of Antinornians. But this was not enough. This 
duty of love to our neighbour must be narrowed down by a 
far more definite barrier ; for, to say a man must love his neigh- 
bour as extensively and forcibly as the peculiar design of the 
Jewish economy would permit, leaves it vastly at random. Some 
people might be pleased to say that that economy required a 
great degree of love, whilst others affirmed it required very little . 
But our author settles this point by another barrier, of a very 
different material. “ The law required,” says he, “ that a man 
should love hi3 neighbour as extensively and forcibly as the pecu- 
liar character of the Jewish people would permit .” 

There can be no doubt what “ the peculiar character of the 
Jewish people ” was. They were a people stiff-necked and un- 
circumcised in heart, and even during the forty days, while the 
law was preparing on Sinai — while, as yet, the trumpet had hard- 
ly ceased to roar, or the thunders of the voice of God to shake 
the earth, they revolted into open idolatry, and made an idol to 
lead them back to Egypt. The law of God, says this writer, 
required this people to love one another as much “ as their pecu- 
liar character would permit .” 

Reader, this is plain English : turn to the 104th page of the 
first volume, and there you will find it. But how much love 
did “ the peculiar character of the Jewish people permit I an- 
swer none ; for, as a people, they were a peculiarly rebellious 
and hardened people. To say the least, as a people they were 
unregenerate, and void of every degree of that love to God and 
each other, which his law requires. 

Here is no perversion of an equivocal, or intricate sentence, 
and the fact, on which I predicate the allegation, is in no man- 


215 

ner constructive, but plain, simple, and obvious, for every one 
to read. 

This exposition of the law of God, seems as much to baffle 
all comment, as it mocks at all comparison. Men, instead of 
being required to love God supremely, and their neighbour as 
themselves, are said to be required to love God with constant 
solicitude — with slavish, base, and painful anxiety, and their 
neighbour as much as their depraved nature and character would 
permit. 

Before I proceed further, I think I am justified in calling upon 
the reader to judge for himself, whether a man who is capable 
of giving such an explanation of the love of God can be expected 
to lead the minds of his hearers into correct and just views of 
truth, or to convey wholesome instructions on the important 
doctrines of revelation. His personal friends, of which class I 
surely hope he is not destitute, will probably say, in his vindica- 
tion, that he sometimes gives a better explanation of this grand 
article. Does he, indeed ? — I wish he always gave a better ; — 
one thing is certain, he cannot give a worse ; and, what is pe- 
culiarly unfortunate for him, 1 have my eye on another similar 
attempt in these sermons to fritter away to nothing the obligation 
of loving our neighbour as ourselves. This precept of the law 
comes so fearfully near to the doctrine of disinterested benevo- 
lence, that this writer, and all others of his class, must explain it 
away. They hate the sight and sound of it as much as the Sa- 
racens and Turks hated the sight of a monument of Grecian 
architecture, and have taken as much pains to destroy it ; but, 
as it is too massive to be undermined, they have attempted to 
dilapidate its columns, architraves, and pilasters, and deface its 
relievos and inscriptions. 

The suggestion, that the Doctor sometimes explains the divine 
law in a less exceptionable manner, brings to my mind Sir Isaac 
Newton’s optical doctrine of “ jits of easy transmission .” He 
supposes that luminous bodies, and particularly the sun, throw 
out their light in certain sudden vibrations ; which, instead of a 
better term, he is pleased to call fits of easy transmission. The 
Doctor, in his easy fits of transmission throws out ideas which, 
ig general, he seems willing to conceal. He often speaks of the 


216 


infinite purity and eternal obligation of the divine law ; which 
fine flourish leads the incautious reader or hearer into a total 
mistake. To love God with solicitude, and our neighbour as 
extensively and forcibly as the design of the Jewish economy, 
and the character of the Jewish people would permit, neither 
conveys the idea of infinite purity or eternal obligation, but ra- 
ther of infinite vileness and eternal stupidity, and especially in 
the expositor who dares thus to degrade and annihilate the moral 
law. 

For, admitting the law to be still in force, what is it worth 
requiring men to love God with solicitude, and each other as 
much as their depraved characters would permit ! But its obliga- 
tion being measured by the design of the Jewish economy, it 
must have been abrogated and done away with that economy. 
And this is the author’s meaning ; to establish which, is not mere- 
ly once attempted, but is the great labour of his life, and aim of 
his public instructions. 

Of what avail is a pompous concession of the infinite purity 
and eternal obligation of the law, after such an exposition of 
that law as we have before us ? But, independent of this exposi- 
tion, even had this writer expounded the import and spirit of 
the law never so correctly, his notion of the gospel places his 
scheme precisely on the Antinomian ground. Christ has paid 
the sinner’s debt ; taken the sinner into a mystical union with 
himself ; made over his righteousness to the sinner ; and as he 
is “ of full weight and measure , perfectly conformable to the law , 
he makes them ( the sinner ) just , or of full weight before God , by 
clothing them with his righteousness." 

He then adds, p. 69. “ This doctrine of righteousness through 
a Redeemer , otherwise called the righteousness of faith , is the rad- 
ical principle of revealed religion , from Genesis to Revelation" 
I put his words in italics that they may not be overlooked. And 
he closes this wonderful paragraph by saying, “ This is the 

SUBSTANCE OF THE GOSPEL.” 

I beg the reader to follow me with a little patience, and I will 
ferret the serpent from the crevices of his rock. By the serpent 
I do not mean the man, but his monstrous error. 

Reader, you now have before you the Doctor’s view of the law 


217 


and the gospel. The great precept on which hangs all the law 
and the prophets, under his transforming pen, is made to say, 
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with unceasing solicitude, i. e. 
with painful and depressing anxiety and perturbation, and thy 
neighbour, as much as the design of the Jewish economy , and 
the depraved character of the Jewish people would permit . And, 
it seems, taking them together, they permitted none at all. 

His obvious motive for measuring our love to our neighbour, 
by the design of the Jewish economy, and the character of the 
Jewish people, was to exclude it wholly from the religion of 
Christ ; accordingly, he declares, p. 69, that “ this doctrine of 
righteousness through a Redeemer , otherwise called the righteous - 
ness of faith , is the radical principle of revealed religion , from 
Genesis to Revelation , and is the substance of the Gospel .” 

In this statement of the law and gospel, I perceive a wretched 
specimen of the unwearied endeavours, which have for years 
been made in this city, to establish a loathsome system of selfish- 
ness and Antinomianismj to pervert the faith of Christians, and 
to sap the foundations of truth. I beg thel reader to notice, that 
this view of these fundamental truths involves the following er- 
rors, and I shall leave him to estimate their magnitude. 

1. The law of God requires no creature to love God with 
solicitude . If the Doctor mistook the meaning of the term solici- 
tude, and thought it conveyed the idea of supreme love of God, 
I would recommend it to him to recall and suppress this edi- 
tion of his sermons, till he can have time to study the import 
ef language ; or, at any rate, to defer publishing the remaining 
volumes, of which there seems to be a dignified hint in his 
preface, till he can peruse Johnson or Walker. I think either 
of these steps would save him some solicitude . He speaks of 
Christ’s exact conformity to the law. I hope he does not ima- 
gine that Christ loved God with “ unceasing solicitude,” &c. &c. 

2. The law of God required that a man love his neighbour 
as himself ; and so far from limiting the extensiveness and force 
of that affection, by the peculiar design of the Jewish economy, 
which would suppose the duty to expire with that economy, 
and be vague and unmeaning while it lasted — or, by the pecu- 
liar character of the Jewish people, which would absolutely re- 
duce it to nothing, would annihilate it altogether ; the require- 

19 


218 


ment had no relation to the Jewish economy, or character of the 
Jewish people. And no pretence was ever more absurd or 
false, than the one here set up, for the purpose of cancelling the 
second great command in the law, or destroying its obligation. 

3. The Antinomian is known for his opposition to all moral 
virtue ; and for setting up faith, as every thing in religion : and 
yet his faith, as much as he makes of it, is but a wretched patch 
of mysticism, and a suitable instrument of self-deception. How 
many degrees from this is the Doctor’s idea of gospel religion ? He 
allows the Christian no righteousness but imputed righteousness. 
He allows, indeed, that before man fell he was bound by an 
obligation of moral or personal holiness, but as a sinner he strips 
him of all ability — and, as a redeemed sinner, removes him in - 
finitely distant from the department of moral virtue ; — describes 
that whole department in the most degrading, loathsome, and 
sickening terms, as consisting in base and selfish love to God, 
and a love to men circumscribed by the narrow and perishing 
barriers of the Jewish economy, and the still worse character of 
the Jewish people : in short, he profanes the temple of rational, 
moral virtue and holiness, by something worse than swine’s flesh ; 
fills it with loathsome deformity, and disgusting filth, to prevent 
all return to it forever — and then most pompously declares, that 
the righteousness of faith is the radical principle of revealed 
religion, from the beginning of the Bible to the end, and the 
substance of the gospel. 

I ask the stated hearers of this gentleman, how long it is since 
they have heard him, in an elaborate pulpit effort, endeavour to 
show that religion does not consist in love, but in faith ? — in 
which he strove, with all his might, to make out that love to 
God and men is a merely legal, antiquated, Old Testament, 
64 Jewish economy” affair? — in which he was at much pains 
to scatter over the fair and glorious field of moral virtue the 
crudities of "Antinomian pollution ? Many intelligent persons, 
who are not only judges of doctrine, but of logic and sermon- 
izing, who may chance to see these remarks, will, I trust, re- 
member something about that sermon. 

How long shall the blind be led by the blind ? How long 
shall prejudice and error usurp the throne of reason; nay, 


219 


usurp the awful province of divine instruction, and lead their 
willingjvotaries to remediless perdition ? Reader, these are no 
trifles, and it looks but too much like the fearful business of 
groping in the dark after an unknown Saviour — like seizing 
some of the ghostly phantoms that glimmer there, and holding 
it forth as the object of faith. To make righteousness without 
holiness, and a religion without goodness, has ever been the 
desideratum of wicked men ; and when any project to this ef- 
fect has been set on foot, however absurd, however monstrous, 
it never fails of finding its advocates and admirers. 

The righteousness of faith (if that phrase be properly under- 
stood) forms certainly an important article in Christian doctrine, 
as it refers directly to the pardon and justification of the sinner. 
That act of grace by which the sinner is pardoned and justi- 
fied before God, will ever be remembered with eternal grati- 
tude and praise by all the redeemed ; nor will it be remem- 
bered, but in connection with its proper grounds, the atone- 
ment and work of Christ, by which alone it is brought about. 
But is there nothing in religion but pardon and justification ? — 
nothing but faith by which that pardon and justification is re- 
ceived ? It is painful to perceive how men run distracted — in- 
to what wild extremes they are hurried in pursuit of a favourite 
hypothesis. The redemption of a sinner is a glorious and a 
most gracious work of God ; but the sinner is redeemed, par- 
doned, justified, restored, that he may become a good subject 
of God’s great kingdom — may be reinstated in holy and perfect 
love forever. 

There is but one true religion in God’s kingdom, as there. is 
but one law, and but one God. The moment a sinner is born 
again, he is in that religion ; he is born into it. For he that 
loveth is born of God, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth 
in God, and God in him. Faith is an important act, which ra- 
ther leads to, than makes up, ihe body of religion. Faith can 
hardly be called a principle, in any sense ; it is a particular 
act of a creature, and, as far as relates to the intellect, has for 
its object certain particular acts of God — I mean the work of 
atonement and redemption. There will be no faith in heaven ; 
in that glorious world faith will be swallowed up in vision ; and 


220 


that which in this world gives faith its moral value and excel- 
lence, is the sole consideration that it works by love, and in 
that way becomes holiness or virtue. 

The justifying power or efficacy of faith arises from the sim- 
ple consideration of its being the sinner’s rational and hearty 
acquiescence in the salvation God has provided for the sinner. 
Of course, as far as the understanding is concerned, as far as 
faith is the mere assent to the evidence of facts, there is no 
more virtue in it than in any other assent to the understanding. 
But when the understanding believes in the record God has 
given of his Son, and the heart cordially receives that record, 
and joyfully confides in it, that faith becomes saving, because 
the sinner then “ receives Christ, and rests upon him alone for 
salvation, as he is offered in the gospel.” 

Faith does not derive its justifying, or saving power, from cer- 
tain mystical qualities, or nameless properties it contains ; and 
those who talk about the implantation of divine principles, 
which no mortal can conceive of, and the constitution of mysti- 
cal and spiritual unions which] no one can describe, deceive their 
hearers, if not themselves. Some idea may be formed of faith 
by considering its opposite, unbelief ; which is in general hatred 
and rejection of the truth. The great object of redemption is 
to recover the sinner from his ruined state — to make him holy 
and happy ; and on the sinner’s part, it is necessary for him 
to understand the plan of redemption, or so much of it as relates 
immediately to his case ; to approve of it in his heart, to receive 
it, and acquiesce in it, by obedience. 

There is but one sort of holiness, or moral goodness, in God’s 
kingdom. Creatures who have that, are like God, and are in 
the image of God. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, 
dwelleth in God, and God in him. Hence, as fallen man is in 
a state of enmity to God, and of supreme self-love, a great 
change is necessary to restore him to God’s favour. This change 
is celled a second birth : a man must be born again, i. e. he 
must undergo an entire change of heart, from hatred to love. 
Hence, saith the scripture, “ he that loveth is born of God, and 
he that loveth not , knoweth not God, for God is love.” “ And,” 


221 


saith the same apostle, “ we know that we have passed from 
death unto life, because we love the brethren.” 

While the sinner perceives the nature and grounds, and ap- 
preciates the value of pardon and acceptance before God, his 
emotions of gratitude can be surpassed by nothing but his inde- 
scribable and overflowing love and admiration of the infinite 
glory and loveliness of the triune God, manifested in all ways, 
and by all means, before his creatures. 

The notion that faith , or “ the righteousness of faith,” is the 
grand principle of religion, is of a piece with all the selfish scheme. 
It seems to intimate that the sinner cares nothing about any 
thing but his own salvation ; — perceives nothing else, regards 
nothing else ; while, at the same time, it renders religion an un- 
feeling, unmeaning system of mysticism, and contradicts the 
whole body of revealed truth. 

“ Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.” Nothing 

r 

can more beautifully illustrate this grand precept than the so- 
lemn declaration of an apostle of the Christian church, when 
we hear him say, “We know we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren :” when we hear him declar- 
ing, that “ he that loveth us is born of God ; nay, dwelleth in God, 
and God in him.” This does not sound much like saying, 
that the law of God required a man to love his neighbour as 
extensively and forcibly as the design of the Jewish economy, 
and the character of the Jewish people would permit. 

Faith, considered as the sinner’s acceptance with Christ, is 
truly important ; and the principle of pardon and justification, 
on the ground of Christ’s merits, no Christian will be disposed 
to think lightly of, but, Reader, the gate of a te mple is not the 
temple itself. Faith, pardon, justification, &c. considered in 
their causes, nature, grounds, and effects, open the gates of life 
and glory to the sinner. Christ himself says, “ I am the door,” 
&c. And this he spake, no doubt, in allusion to the sinner’s 
pardon and acceptance with God, through him. He will be 
the king on his holy hill of Zion, will eternally reign in glory, 
and be the glorious medium of divine manifestation, to all eter- 
nity. But the religion of heaven, and of all holy creatures, will 
be one. And if God is love, it will be a religion of perfect love. 
19 * 


222 


No mind can rise to a conception of more perfect holiness or 
felicity than this. It necessarily excludes all injury, and all 
misery ; it necessarily includes all wisdom, all amiableness, all 
goodness, all perfection. 

A moment’s attention to the bible idea of religion will show, 
that the author of the above definition of faith, and the right- 
eousness of faith, entertains but a scanty and miserable notion 
of it. I hope and trust, in the mercy of God, that the feelings 
of his heart contradict his theoretical definitions. Faith, as ma- 
king any part of religion, is but the consequence of local cir- 
cumstances, and a particular character, which will one day cease. 
The principle that one being is justified by the merit of another, 
though certainly forming a most illustrious display of divine 
mercy, is not a standing rule of divine government ; is neither 
universal nor perpetual in its application ; but is the method 
adapted by the infinite mercy of God to the recovery and re- 
storation of sinners ; who, when once restored, shall lack nothing 
of that personal holiness and perfect moral rectitude in which 
holy creatures stand before God without a mediator. Their 
union to, and redemption by, Christ ; or, perhaps more properly, 
the promise and purpose of God, may secure them from the dan- 
ger of a future rebellion, but will not stand them in stead for per- 
sonal holiness, or moral purity. 

St. Paul differs very essentially from this writer in his idea 
of faith, and evidently considers, and expressly declares it, inferior 
to charity. “ Though I have all faith , so that I could remove 
mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And now abideth 
faith, hope, charity, these three — but the greatest of these is char- 
ity.” 0 no, Paul, you are greatly mistaken for once : Dr. J. B. 
R. says, that faith is much the greatest. 

Whether the reader will consider it as descending too low 
to go into verbal criticism, I cannot say, but the temptation, just 
at this moment, is too strong to be resisted. The Doctor says that 
the law requires that a man love his neighbour as extensively 
and forcibly as the Jewish economy would permit, &c. To 
love any person extensively is a phrase not very easy to under- 
stand, unless he means from head to foot . A man travels 
extensively, sees extensively, &c. ; but I never saw any 
person who loved extensively. Perhaps he refers to some 


( 


223 


practice under the Jewish economy. But when he tells about 
loving forcibly , I am utterly beat ; it seems to resemble an as- 
sault vi et armis. Among all the fervid and rapturous phrases 
of chivalry, I believe it was never thought of. I have heard of 
loving sincerely — ardently — vastly — distractedly — outrageously — 
terribly — infinitely — but never forcibly. 

I shall close this number by considering a mistake, which the 
Doctor says some believers fall into ; and that in few words. He 
says, vol ii. p. 230. “ The mistake under which some believers 
(meaning Hopkinsians) labour is , that it is not lawful to regard 
our personal interest in matters of religion, any further than the 
value which ice possess in the scale of being; or, in other words, 
that we must be willing, if our value be so low, to relinquish our 
personal interest, and with it our all, for those who possess more 
value than ourselves .” 

If any person by reading this, can tell what the mistake is, 1 
shall be glad. Does he mean that some believers have adopted 
a false rule of valuation, and that this is their mistake ? He 
lays down no rule : he poises their personal interest against 
their comparative value. He puts things on opposite sides of 
the fulcrum which ought to be on the same side. What is the 
mistake of some believers ? Why, they say, “ it is not lawful to 
regard our personal interest, in matters of religion, any further 
than the value which we possess in the scale of being.” It 
seems, then, that it is lawful to regard our personal interest fur- 
ther than our value, &c. But this means nothing. What does 
he mean by “further,” an adverb of place or locality ! The 
sentence is unintelligible. Did ever any one institute compari- 
son between his personal interest and his value in the scale of 
being X Is there a child who does not know that they are equal X 
It is a comparison between himself and himself Yet this meta- 
physician has found out that a believer whose value is equal, say, 
to ten thousand, may regard his personal interest “further,” i. e. 
at 15 or 20 thousand; and he is under “ a mistake” if he does 
not do it. A queer mistake ! This eternal squinting at self-inte- 
rest, through logic, and through absurdity— through thick and 
thin, I abhor. 

I know of but one correct rule of valuation, and that is to 


224 


value every thing in God’s kingdom, according to its real worth: 
and is that a mistake ? Perhaps the Doctor means to say, that the 
mistake 'of some believers consists in this, viz., they hold that 
they must surrender their personal interest, when it becomes 
incompatible with the personal interest of those more valuable 
in the scale of being than themselves. If there be any meaning 
in what he says about “ the mistake ,” it must be this, though he 
does not say it. But wherein is the mistake of this sentiment 1 
If there be two interests, a greater and a less, which are incom- 
patible with each other, is it a mistake to hold that the less ought 
to be given up for the sake of the greater ? If there are two 
vessels at sea, one containing a hundred, and the other a thou- 
sand souls, and one or the other of them must be lost at sea ; 
would any man be at a loss to say which of them ought to sink? 
A wonderful mistake, indeed ! ! ! If my neighbour’s value, in the 
scale of being, be equal to a hundred, and mine equal to ten, 
and the personal interest of one or the other of us must be given 
up, is it difficult to say whose ought to be given up ? Suppose, 
for example, that the Doctor himself was worth a hundred, and I 
but ten, and the interest of one or the other of us must be given 
up, and the Doctor himself was to set in judgment on the question 
■—would he not, with his usual volubility, say, “ I am worth ten 
times as much as he, therefore the less must be sacrificed to the 
greater?” And suppose, finally, I myself were to be the judge 
of that question, would my interest in the matter alter the nature 
of justice ? Ought I to save ten, and destroy a hundred, because 
the ten are mine ? Reader, read and judge. 

But how does the Doctor make this wonderful mistake appear ? 
His argument, which ought, at least, to make him master of the 
magicians, is worthy to be had in everlasting remembrance, as 
a specimen of triangular metaphysics. He takes up a whole 
large octavo page in saying that we have no “ graduated scale” 
whereby to measure the value of each other. And what then ? 
Who says we have ? Does our want of a “ graduated scale” to 
measure the comparative value of men alter or impair the 
above-mentioned rule of valuation ? The governor of the world 
has that scale of valuation always before him ; and he has given 
us reason and sense, or, at least, some of us, to perceive the 


225 


above rule of valuation to be equitable and necessary to be 
used in all cases where a less object comes in absolute compe- 
tition with a greater. For no other reason does he punish the 
wicked, but because their happiness is absolutely incompatible 
with the happiness of an infinitely greater sum of being. 

Which of all the believers, (Hopkinsians he might say,) whom 
he accuses of a mistake, ever supposed that we had in our hands 
the u graduated scale ?” But we can perceive and demon- 
strate, the principle of equitable valuation, and of its applica- 
tion to all cases, where a greater and a less good stand in com- 
petition or repugnancy to each other. But his most curious ar- 
gument, to make out the “ mistake ” is, that if a believer in 
fact, could make this valuation — “if on fair impartial examination 
of the pretensions of others and his own, he is constrained to 
judge that he is of more value than others, and claims his right, 
as such, he will be considered vain, assuming, and arrogant, by 
all who understand human nature .” A wonderful stroke, in- 
deed ! — What if he is considered “ vain, assuming, and arrogant, 
by all who understand human nature, does that help to prove 
the mistake?” If his judgment be correct, as the writer grants, 
it is the judgment of God ; and eternal justice will keep him in 
countenance though “ all who understand human nature think 
him vain, arrogant, and assuming.” 

But, would not his argument have appeared better if he had 
said, “by all who do not understand human nature?” Fori 
am sure that no man who understands human nature could 
think him vain, arrogant, and assuming, for claiming his rights 
which resulted from a fair impartial comparison and valuation. 

The sum of the argument, provided sense can be extracted 
from a series of sentences, which, as they stand, amount appa- 
rently to nothing, is, 

1. That, where two interests, a greater and a less , are abso- 
lutely repugnant to each other, that the less must be sacrificed 
to the greater, is a “ mistake.” 

2. This mistake is made out by two grand arguments ; first, 

that mankind have no “ graduated scale ” of valuation ; and, 

secondly, that if they had, and could absolutely discover which 

the o-reater and which the less interest was, it would not do for 
o 


226 


them to give a just and equitable decision, for fear of being 
thought “ vain, arrogant, and assuming,” by all who understand 
human nature. “ A Warburton in controversy ! ! ! ” 

On page 282, the Doctor is so good as to tell us whence this 
mistake orignates. A very clever thing in him. 

“ The mistake of which I am speaking,” says he, “ originates 
in the idea that virtue or holiness consists, not in choosing and 
performing every duty in its place, but merely in the love of 
being, in general.” An origin worty of the “ mistake !” I ask 
the reader, in what respect these two definitions of virtue are 
inconsistent with each other ? Does not he who loves being, in 
general, perform every duty in its place ? — and who so likely as 
he to do it ? Does not God love being, in general ? God is 
love ; — but love must have an object ; and what does God love ? 
Is not the love of being a duty in every Christian 1 — and does 
not he who loves being, in general, do that duty “ in its place ? n 
And does not he who loves God, and angels, and men — yea, 
his friends, and his enemies, do all these duties in their places 1 
What duty, my good Doctor, is not included in love ; since love 
worketh no ill to his neighbour, and is the fulfilling of the law ? 
But, Reader, Reader, the secret of all this metaphysical bungling, 
and Jesuitical twisting, for argument it eannot be called, still lies 
behind. There is, in all this harangue about the “ mistake,” no 
case stated — nothing made plain — nothing refuted — no mistake 
discoverable at the mast-head with a first-rate spy-glass. Though 
supremely miserable and contemptible in point of argument, 
as every reader must perceive, there was a design in it ; which 
design did not fail of its effect. The design was to impress the 
minds of the hearers of that sermon, that certain people held 
to monstrous errors : — to make them believe that these people 
pretend to carry about them “ a graduated scale,” to measure 
every one’s value by ; that when they have found that one 
man is more valuable than another, they pretend that the man 
of minor valne must, of course, surrender up all his religious 
rights or interest to him who is of superior value ; and that 
without any apparent motive, reason, cause, or provocation, 
but merely because the other is of most value. 

And for the origin of this wondrous “ mistake,” what is it ? 


227 


Why, some people hold that virtue does not consist in doing 
every duty in its place , but in the love of being, in general . Gog 
and Magog ! what metaphysics. Suppose the love of being, in 
general, is a duty, do they not do it in its place ? Does not he 
who loves God supremely, and his neighbour as himself, love 
being, in general, and do duty in its place ? And will any one 
deny that that is the first of all duties? Whoever does that, 
does the sum of duty, for love is the fulfilling of the law. From 
whom are we to expect the performance of duty in the detail, 
if not from him who is thoroughly imbued in the first grand prin- 
ciples of duty and virtue ? 

“ Since, then,” continues the Doctor, p. 284, “ it is obviously 
impracticable to ascertain the precise value of different persons, 
why should we tamper with the moral sensibilities of our nature, 
by making our impartial love to them the test and evidence of a 
gracious state ?” Was ever a declaration so barefaced, or so impi- 
ous ? More than this could scarcely have been expected from the 
pen of Thomas Paine. It is an open and bold attack on the law 
of God. 

“ Since, then.” The reader perceives this to be an inference. 
But what conclusion does he draw from what premises ? He 
had been arguing that some were in a mistake, because they 
supposed that a little being must give up all his interest to a 
great one, merely on account of his superiority ; and without 
giving the reader a glimpse of any rational opinion ever held 
by any mortal, or confuting it by one rational argument: in 
short, he effectually tangles down three or four pages of words 
and sentences, and only enables the reader to conjure out the 
idea, that he is trying to overthrow some horrible Hopkin- 
sian error, and then comes this inference, in nowise connected 
with any thing preceding, that since we cannot measure the 
value of beings, therefore we must not tamper with the sensi- 
bilities of our nature by making impartial love to our neigh- 
bour an evidence of grace. He that loves his neighbour as 
himself loves him impartially , and the phrase can mean nothing 
else. All this senseless jargon of several pages has for its sole 
object to destroy this precept of the law ; since he begins, by 
saying, that precept required a man to love his neighbour as 


228 


extensively and forcibly as the design of the Jewish economy, 
and the character of the Jewish people, would permit : a complete 
annihilation of it, as to Christians ; and closes by declaring, that, 
to require a man to love his neighbour impartially, is a useless 
tampering with the sensibilities of his nature. 

If this is not tampering with the law of God, I do not under- 
stand the meaning of the term. 

I trust I have redeemed my pledge, in relation to my first al- 
legation, to wit, that correct instructions are not given in the tri- 
angular pulpits of the city. Far be it from me to say that they 
preach no truth. Their sermons are not without excellent para- 
graphs ; and these occur, as observed in a former number, when, 
forgetting themselves and their theories, they give a loose to 
their better feelings, and break fairly out of the triangle. They 
then are known sometimes to tamper with a man’s selfish sensi- 
bilities, so far as to point out to him his duty, his obligations, 
his danger, and his remedy. But so long as they preserve 
self-consistency, and keep to the triangle, no matter whether it 
be scalene, isosceles, equilateral, or rectangular, their instructions 
are incorrect. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. IV. 

A Letter, addressed to two distinguished members of the Jersey 
Presbytery , the Rev. Dr , and the Rev. Dr 

Rev. Sirs, 

Though the reign of superstition and astrology is past away, 
and, with it, the belief of fortunate and unfortunate days, yet 
you have doubtless observed, that states and empires, and the 
most important institutions, both civil and religious, have their 
crises, their moments of highest interest and import, on which 
their destiny turns, and from which may be traced their misfor- 
tunes or felicity — their prosperity or decline. I cannot but feel 


229 


strongly persuaded, and by indications which to me appear in- 
dubitable, that the days now passing are critical and momentous 
to the interests and future prospects of the Presbyterian Church 
in America, of which you are distinguished members. If it 
should be doubted whether the present time affords any indica- 
tions which are specially ominous, my impressions still derive 
some support from the broader ground that every day, and all 
times, are important in their influence on all temporal institu- 
tions, which are seldom stationary, but are always waxing or 
waning in their interest and prosperity. 

The origin and progress, the situation and prospects, of the 
Presbyterian church in this country, are happy beyond all ex- 
ample, and present, to the contemplative mind, an object be 
yond all parallel in the annals of time. I say nothing to the 
disparagement of other churches ; and there are others for which 
I feel a high respect, and a sincere affection ; and I most cor- 
dially congratulate them in the enjoyment of equal privileges 
and pleasing prospects. 

The Presbyterian church, in her origin, resembles that of the 
nation in which she is embosomed, and under whose umbrage- 
ous boughs she enjoys protection and repose. And if by her 
origin is intended the form she now bears, the same generation 
witnessed both events, and is not yet past away. As to her 
progress, it will be sufficient to say, she now embraces several 
Synods, and between thirty and forty Presbyteries. The Mi- 
nutes of the General Assembly now lie before me, in which I 
perceive that thirty -two Presbyteries attended her last session. 

Her origin and progress have been pacific — have resulted 
solely from the influence of sentiment, and the progress of con- 
viction. And I adore and bless God, that she has been as far 
from the disposition as the ability to increase her numbers by 
coercion, or enforce her principles by the arm of civil power. 
Her situation, as far as temporal things are concerned, promises 
every thing which can be the rational objects of hope and ex- 
pectation. Extending through the fairest climates, she embraces 
a respectable portion of the inhabitants of the city and the wil- 
derness, and she connects these extremes through intermediate 
towns and flourishing villages over a wide country. Her tem- 
20 


230 


poral interests are rising with the fortunes and resources of a 
young, enterprising, and prosperous nation. 

But her ultimate prosperity depends on far other and higher 
considerations. Whatever may be the increase of her wealth 
and numbers, her decline will commence with the decline of 
holiness and vital religion — with the decline of sound doctrine 
and Christian discipline. Her prosperity, therefore, is essentially 
connected with the effectual influence of the spirit of God, in 
the conversion of souls, and the addition of her numbers of per- 
sons of that description. Hitherto she has been highly favoured, 
even in this respect ; and as far as we can judge, or have a right 
to judge, Christ himself has been her light — has walked in the 
midst of his golden candlesticks, and has supplied them with holy 
oil and heavenly fire. 

This Church, spreading her branches to the east and west, 
and north and south, resembles “ a tree planted by the rivers 
of waters and when the prospects of her future enlargement, 
grounded on the rising fortunes of this yet infant nation, and the 
encouragement to hope that God will bless and prosper her, 
are considered, her friends and children cannot but rejoice, and 
ascribe glory to the Redeemer, who has, in so short a period, 
caused the wilderness and the solitary place to blossom like the 
rose. 

This institution, so young and beautiful, so flourishing and 
fair — whose towering height, majestic form, and just propor- 
tion, are discernible from distant parts of the earth, is viewed 
by other eyes than those of children born into the kingdom of 
light and peace — than those of friends who “ prefer Jerusalem 
above their chief joy and whose most fervent prayer is, that 
“ peace may be within h.er walls, and prosperity within her 
palaces.’ ’ Other desires are awakened than those which seek 
only God’s glory advanced in the salvation of souls, and in the 
spiritual welfare of Christ’s church. Eyes burning with ambi- 
tion, and aching in search of the slightest elevation, as a footing 
to begin to scale the steep and slippery ascent, are now scru- 
tinizing her avenues, attempting her thresholds, and knocking at 
her doors. 

I shall leaye you, gentlemen, to judge for yourselves what in- 


231 


roads they have made upon “ liberties” so anxiously spied 
out already — what avenues they have explored — what posts and 
stations they have seized; or whether there has been any thing 
like this, or nothing at all. But you surely will not find fault with 
the assertion, that such things are soon to be expected in the nat- 
ural course of events; and judging from all past experience, and, 
shall I say, present appearances, must now be in their incipient 
state. 

“It seems very reasonable to believe,” says Dr. Wither- 
spoon, “ that as human things are never at a stand, a church 
and nation, in a quiet and peaceable state, is always growing in- 
sensibly worse, till it be either so corrupt as to deserve and pro- 
cure exterminating judgments, or, in the infinite mercy of God, 
by some great shock or revolution, is brought back to simplicity 
and purity, and reduced, as it were, to its first principles.” This 
remark, made by that great writer, in application to the church 
of Scotland, cannot be questioned ; and is justified by the his- 
tory of all churches and nations, and by none more than that of 
the primitive church. 

This deterioration of nations and churches often proceeds by 
slow and imperceptible degrees, and springs from latent causes. 
Nothing is more arduous than an attempt to stay its progress ; it 
is like resisting the force of a mighty torrent, because, as the same 
writer observes, whoever goes so far as to intimate his belief 
that a church is progressing in corruption, will not fail to draw 
upon himself the resentment of all the abettors of that corrup- 
tion. Indeed, the disease must be demonstrated before the 
methods of cure can be exhibited. And those who are corrupt 
themselves, and busily and zealously employed in spreading 
that corruption, will not fail to vindicate themselves by what- 
ever weapons come in their way. 

Nor is the progress of error and corruption always slow : a 
generation quickly arose that knew not Joseph. And we see, in 
sacred history, the same congregation who adored, and wor- 
shipped, and covenanted, before the dreadful glories of the God 
of Israel on Mount Sinai, but a few months after paying vile 
homage to a golden calf, even at the foot of that mountain. 

I shall neither shun nor justify any inferences that may be 


232 


supposed to arise from this general strain of observations. Cha- 
rity hopeth all things ; and I fervently hope that there is not a 
general prevalence of corruption in the church. But there are 
certain local facts which are calculated to excite alarm — which, 

I trust, you will not think unworthy of your consideration. 

Knowing whom I address, I deem it needless to spend time 
in definitions or nice distinctions. For several years past there 
has been, in various places, an increasing opposition to the 
strain of doctrine and sentiments commonly denominated Hop- 
kinsian. At the present time, or within a few months, ground 
has been taken on that subject, at which, all those who gene- 
rally adhere to that doctrine, are greatly alarmed and shocked. 
Direct information has been given, in the form of accusation, 
against several young men, holding those sentiments, with a 
view to impede their settlement, and prevent their preaching in 
certain places. 

One has been informally cited to appear before his Pres- 
bytery, though at a great distance, to answer to the charge of 
preaching heresy. And I need only say, that the sentiments he 
preached are such as you, gentlemen, have been preaching and 
maintaining for many years, and that with power and success. 
A whole synod has made a firm stand, and boldly and expressly 
condemned Hopkinsianism, as “ heresy, and that whereby the 
enemy of souls would, if it were possible, deceive the very 
elect.” 

Corresponding with these particular acts, a combined and 
extensive influence has been used, and is using, to give the public 
mind a general sentiment of abhorrence and indignation against 
that strain of doctrine. And these methods of opposition have 
been used, with great effect, in many places, by which atone of 
feeling has been wrought up, of a grade but a little below direet, 
vigorous, and organized persecution. 

It will be easy to say, that no person need profess himself to 
be a Hopkinsian, or expose himself to this kind of censure and 
opposition. And it is certainly true, that I have never called 
myself by that name, nor do I know of any class of people who 
have ever styled themselves so. 

But, gentlemen, the spirit of this controversy aims not at 


233 


words, but truths. There are three or four grand characteristics 
of doctrine at which the whole weight and violence of this storm 
are pointed. The man who comes out in these y is at once 
branded as a Hopkinsian, and, as you see, condemned as a 
heretic. These points are general atonement, the offer of sal- 
vation to all — a probationary state — moral depravity, or inability, 
or laying the bar to the sinner’s salvation wholly in his will; and 
a religion above all selfishness. You would even be surprised 
to know that for advancing any of these points, for even so 
much as once condemning selfishness, and setting up God’s 
glory above all creature considerations, a man is accused of 
many dangerous and latent errors — of heresy. Let him but 
advance the idea, that the sinner is barred from salvation by 
his own voluntary rejection : — let him but invite all men to 
come to Christ, assuring them there is full provision, and he 
falls irrevocably under all this censure and obloquy. 

Be not misled by the supposition, that this opposition is 
levelled at any of Hopkins’, or Emmons’, or any other man’s pe- 
culiar notions, with which you yourselves might chance to dif- 
fer. No, Gentlemen, the opposition is aimed at the grand 
pillars of that noble and imperishable frame of doctrine 
which you have laboured, through all your years, to establish 
and propagate ; doctrines, which I am consoled, and more hap- 
py than I can express, to say, you have often seen attended with 
demonstration of the spirit, and with power, under your own 
labours, and among your respective flocks : — doctrines, in whose 
efficacy and saving influence many of your hearers will rejoice 
with you to eternity. 

It is somewhat rare, that any of our young men, or old men, 
have entered into any of the peculiar distinctions, or sentiments, 
advocated by certain ministers at the eastward. It is not com- 
mon that close trains of metaphysical reasoning have been re- 
sorted to, either here, or further south, by those censured as 
Hopkinsians. They have generally confined themselves to 
plain and simple discussions of the most important truths. 

Yet, such are the consequences, and such things a day has 
brought forth. It is for you, Reverend and beloved Sirs, to consi- 
der whether the evil has not grown to be of sufficient magnitude 
20 * 


234 


and induced a state of things to require some remedy. As an 
individual, I think I can distinctly foresee, that if neglected, it 
will soon mock at all remedy. If long neglected, it will rise 
like a giant from its cradle, and it will crush, without distinction, 
those who cherished it by their neglect, and those who brought 
it forth, by a tedious gestation and parturition. 

I surely need not call your attention to the fact, that the 
founders of the Presbyterian church had no intention of ma- 
king this strain of doctrine a breaking point ; and -unless I am 
much misinformed, some persons of this description were 
among the very men that reared the fabric into its present form. 
However that may be, the general assembly has never convened, 
since her formation, without members of those sentiments on 
the floor. None of the judicatories of the church, as I have 
heard, ever were so intolerant as to think of refusing, or delay- 
ing, ministers, licentiates, or candidates, on that ground : and in 
the general assembly itself there has, for years, been perpetual 
representations of the New-England churches, the common 
scource, and radiating point, whence those doctrines spread. 

Among the unhappy effects likely to result from the mea- 
sures recently taken, we may well consider the gloomy pros- 
pects which threatened to spread over the whole body of profes- 
sing Christians in the United States. How terrible and shock- 
ing the thought that Christian brethren, friends, and neighbours, 
united for years in the strictest bounds of amity, must be severed 
under the charge of heresy. Many churches must be torn and 
agitated with fierce disputes, and probably rent asunder ; churches 
must be cast out of Presbyteries, aud, perhaps, Presbyteries out 
of Synods. And what appearance would the Presbyterian 
church make, torn with divisions, distracted by disputes, rent 
with schisms, palsied by animosities, and branded with the name 
of a persecutor ? 

I need not conjecture what your feelings would be, Gentle- 
men, oppressed, grieved, agitated, in the contemplation of such 
a wide scene of desolation, misery, and ruin. All connexion 
with our northern and eastern brethren must fall a sacrifice to 
this fierce demon of blind persecuting rage. Nor are they alone 
branded with the odious and shameful epithet of heretics. 


235 


Other denominations, even Episcopalians and Methodists, and 
all who in any way have incurred the appellation of Arminians, 
are also to be abhorred and contemptuously put under the ban 
of heresy. The stern eye of detestation is to be turned upon 
them ; the finger of scorn pointed at them ; the lip of pride and 
religious bigotry are to pronounce, “ There is an Arminian here- 
tic — a Hopkinsian heretic.” 

No more are ministers from the Congregational churches of 
New England, or licentiates from the same quarter, to come into 
the bounds of the Presbyterian church, and to be received with 
open arms, and affectionate welcomes into our judicatories, un- 
less they abjure the doctrines of their fathers, and shrink them- 
selves into the sharp and narrow limits of the triangle : from 
which may heaven preserve them ; although it cannot but be pre- 
sent to the mind of every one how great a number of the ministers 
now within the bounds of the General Assembly originated from 
that quarter. 

But, Gentlemen, perhaps , yea doubtless, this wall of separa- 
tion between us and them will be considered by some as de- 
sirable. Will it be so esteemed by you ? Perhaps the arrival 
and establishment of ministers from those churches, now called 
heretics, will no longer be thought necessary or consistent with 
Presbyterian policy. Perhaps it will be said that we now have 
an established ministerial seminary, therefore it is time that the 
streams from that northern fountain were dried up. Sooner 
may the River Euphrates be dried up, and the way of the kings 
of the east be prepared. But at the name of a ministerial semi- 
nary, more extensive prospects and surprising thoughts rush 
upon my mind. 

Are we, Gentlemen, to understand that young men educated 
for the church in that seminary are to be imbued in this intole- 
rance of spirit — are to be sent forth to preach down Hopkinsian 
heresy ? I seem to be under both a natural and a moral ina- 
bility to believe it ; and yet the difference of latitude between 
them and Philadelphia is fearfully small. If a great divine in 
Philadelphia has placed Hopkins himself in hell ; if the whole 
synod of Philadelphia have denounced his doctrine as heresy, 


236 


I fear for all the surrounding atmosphere of that region : — it has 
a murky appearance, when seen from a distance. 

Analogical reasoning is never demonstrative, and sometimes 
fallacious ; yet I find it difficult to believe that even the late act 
of that Synod could have arisen without some influence and coun- 
tenance ab extra . But from an event so sudden, so unexpected, 
so shocking, so contrary to the whole tenor and maxims of the 
Presbyterian church, as well as of the present age, I scarcely 
know what to think or what to look for next. But of one thing 
I am assured : if this decision of the Philadelphia Synod is, in 
truth, to be considered as the prevailing voice of the Presby- 
terian church, as a body, she is ruined. 

If sound policy be worthy of consideration, never was act 
more impolitic than to excite the contempt and derision of im- 
mense numbers of people, and that without the prospect of an- 
swering one valuable purpose thereby. You, gentlemen, will 
perceive how this rash denunciation may operate, in various 
ways, against the increase and prosperity of this whole church ; 
and you know that great events turn on small pivots. Will peo- 
ple who are considered as Arminians , or Hopkinsians, when they 
see themselves by this public official ukase condemned and 
stigmatized as heretics, feel an inclination to unite with presby- 
terianism ? Will they view them as a lovely, amiable, affection- 
ate, and generous class of people, with whom a union would be 
desirable, aside from all sentiments ? Will they be likely to listen 
to their arguments, commencing with a bull of excommunication ? 
It was precisely thus the haughty prelates of Rome treated Lu- 
ther, when arraigned before them for his trial. Their first argu- 
ment was, that he was a damnable heretic, and must abjure his 
sentiments, or meet his doom. This was not metaphysical. 

Does it sound well for an august Synod of Christian ministers 
to address a letter to all their churches, announcing that a set 
of heretics were amongst them, and must be forthwith extirpa- 
ted and exterminated? Who can read this, and not perceive, 
that, if those ghostly lords had but the arm of the civil power 
to enforce their decree, there would be additional clauses ? Gen- 
tlemen, this business has more of the smell of fire about it than 


237 

the garments of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abed-nego, after they 
came out of the furnace. 

But if this act be impolitic, it is no less unjust. For I ask, 
were such men as Dr. Watts and Kichard Baxter heretics? 
Men are condemned as heretics for holding precisely the same 
general strain of sentiments. It is not singular and particular 
tenets ; it is for holding the great and scripture doctrine of a 
“ propitiation for the sins of the whole world,” moral depra- 
vity, &c. as already stated. The authors of the Pastoral Letter 
well know that there are multitudes in the communion of the 
Presbyterian church who hold to these sentiments, and would 
lay down their necks on the block before they would abandon 
them, and add their names to the glorious catalogue of martyrs 
for the truth. Are all these to be anathematized as heretics, 
and proceeded against as such, unless they abjure their senti- 
ments ? The requisition would be as unjust as the revocation 
of the edict of Nantz, and ought to stand recorded on the same 
page of the history of persecutions. It does not equally affect 
men’s property, but is equally levelled at the liberties of con- 
science. 

The attempt to justify this measure by an appeal to our con- 
fession of faith, and by alleging that these men differ with 
that confession, you well know, gentlemen, how to appreciate. 
For myself, I consider it, not as the voice of the syren, which 
is said to be pleasant, but as the roaring of a lion who has of 
old “ learned to catch prey and devour men it is the voice 
of bigotry and intolerance ; it is the universal and everlasting 
watch-word against improvement and reform. “ The form of 
sound words,” that scripture phrase, for ever pressed into the 
same inglorious service, is much insisted on in this Pastoral Let- 
ter, and the pointed meaning it is used to convey ought to be 
sickening to every Christian and man of sense. I call to your 
mind, gentlemen, that it is not many centuries since Gallileo 
and Copernicus were condemned, because they had departed 
from “ the form of sound words,” viz. for teaching what they 
had discovered in natural philosophy, that the sun stood still, and 
the earth revolved. 

In subscribing to the confession of faith, my views were, I 


238 


trust, not dissimilar to the views of those who compiled it. I 
viewed it as a noble system of doctrine, but as the work of fallible 
men, and, of course, by no means infallible or perfect, or to be 
regarded as divine law. I had never any idea of substituting it 
for the word of God, or laying it by the side of the sacred ora- 
cles, as of paramount authority, at which all inquiry was to stop, 
and disputation cease. I found myself perfectly supported in 
these impressions of that book, by the preface to the first edition, 
if I mistake not, in which this is frankly, and in the most ingenu- 
ous manner, declared. It was never in the dreams of its au- 
thors to set it up as the sovereign arbiter of conscience ; or that 
any deviation from any points therein contained were to be stigma- 
tized as deviations from the eternal standard of truth, or subject 
those who deviated to censure and excommunication. 

I confess I have been of late frequently shocked and disgusted 
by perceiving, on certain occasions, all reference to any higher 
authority dropped, and solemn reference made to that, as if 
clothed with supreme authority, and imposing irrefragable obli- 
gation — as “ to the law and to the testimony.” I say, I have 
been shocked as often as I have seen any propensity to such a 
course since the doctrine of human infallibity has been suf- 
ficiently abused, and, I should imagine, sufficiently exposed and 
derided. 

You, gentlemen, cannot but be aware of the impossibility and 
absurdity of setting up any human standard, by which im- 
mense numbers of people, learned or unlearned, shall square 
down their faith to every sentence and sentiment of it, even to 
every jot and tittle. And could such a point be achieved, which 
yet never was, since men were on the earth, and which, from 
the very nature of the human mind, is impossible, it could be 
desirable upon no other supposition than that of the absolute 
perfection of the standard. But where the system, dignified by 
the name of standard , is confessedly the work of fallible men, 
and, of course, may fail of rectitude in various respects, it would 
be as useless as impracticable, as absurd as impossible, to pro- 
cure an absolute unqualified assent to all its parts and particles 
from every member of the church. 

And what would be the consequence, if certain individuals 


239 


should come to a firm and conscientious conviction, that certain 
parts of it were wrong, but were still willing, nevertheless, to 
abide by it as their confession of faith 1 And such cases will of- 
ten happen. The history of all churches will answer this ques- 
tion. Let the history of the Greek, Roman, English, Scottish, 
and Genevan churches answer. These unhappy men must be 
persecuted for conscience sake, and their names east out as evil. 
Thus did Calvin himself : and while, as yet, the unhallowed 
thunders of Rome had not done murmuring round his head, he 
is drawing the cord of spiritual tyranny round the people of 
Geneva, and violently squaring down every man’s conscience 
to his own views. But the objector will say, Ah, Calvin was 
right, and, therefore, might resort to such measures. Yes — yes — 
Calvin was right; and his object was to force every one to be 
right also, or he would serve them as he did Servetus. 

A reference to the authority and practice of the church of 
Scotland, so highly sanctified, in the view of some persons, 
gives no relief to my fears, and reflects no happy light on our 
future destinies. Rather may heaven deliver us from following 
in the rocky paths that church has trod : and I will only say, 
she is most eulogized by those who know the least about her, 
and, on no account, is a model for us to follow. It is true, that 
neither a pope nor a monarch has been her head, but that has 
not always prevented her from being a hydra, and a haughty 
invader of the rights of conscience. She has felt the influence 
of an aristocracy as dark and foggy, as bleak and barren, as her 
rugged mountains and leafless hills. 

I am not ignorant of the merits of the church of Scotland. 
They can boast of great and illustrious men, whose names will 
be among the brightest ornaments of literature, and whose use.- 
fulness and fame, as ministers of Christ, have rarely been sur- 
passed in modern Europe. Nor do I deny the merits of their 
doctrine or discipline, as comprehending a noble body of theo- 
retical and practical wisdom. May we be able to copy their 
excellencies, and shun their defects. 

It would be presumption in me, gentlemen, to undertake to 
suggest a course of conduct to you in the present juncture of 
affairs ; and useless to attempt to conjecture what course you 


240 


will pursue. That a new comet has appeared on our horizon, 
whose motions are rapid, and aspects malign, I think you will 
not deny ; since every eye can see it without a telescope. It 
matters not whether you say you are Hopkinsians or not; you 
may, indeed, say, that you are not ; for, as I have repeatedly 
said, I have seen but few persons, in my day, who chose to adopt 
that title. The strain of doctrine in which I myself believe I 
know, perfectly well, neither was derived directly or indirectly 
from Hopkins, and it is very probable you can safely say as 
much. Our licentiates are accused of heresy, and driven from 
places where there had been flattering prospects of speedy 
and agreeable settlements, under cruel and unjust imputations ; 
and the synod of Philadelphia has raised the cry of heresy 
against the whole strain of doctrine. 

Far be it from me to wish to abridge the right of individuals, 
or of public bodies, of promoting the scheme of doctrine they 
approve of; or of opposing, by just argumentation, what they 
dislike. And I know too well your liberality of sentiment, and 
magnanimity of soul, not to be sensible that you take equal 
pleasure in receiving and giving charitable and Christian in- 
dulgence. There is a pleasure in this mutual forbearance which 
infinitely transcends the gratification of the stern bigot while he 
binds the conscience, the lord of our actions — and fetters the 
tongue, the glory of our frame. 

But as I little expected to hear the heaviest and last censure 
of the church hurled at the sentiments which, from my soul, I 
believe to be the eternal truth of God, so, neither do I believe 
that you, gentlemen, can hear the awful reverberation of these 
thunders, though rolling at a distance, without inward horror 
and astonishment. I presume you will not dissent from me in 
the opinion, that it is a time of darkness and mourning. The 
language of prophecy represents the fall of states, nations, 
and churches, by the darkening of the luminaries of heaven. I 
do not say that this church has fallen, but I say that a third part 
of the stars of heaven are eclipsed ; and if this spirit of intole- 
rance and persecution shall prevail, and maintain her ground in 
this church, her fall is near. 

I have neither said, nor conceded by implication, that the 


241 


strain of doctrine commonly styled Hopkinsian differs, in any 
material point, from our confession of faith ; although the 
Synod of Philadelphia express an ardent hope, that “ the time 
may never come when those doctrines , and our confession of 
faith , shall be considered as one and the same thing but I 
do say, and I do feel an irresistible conviction of its truth, that 
to expect a perfect coincidence of opinion in every article and 
idea of this, or any other confession of faith or creed, of equal 
extent and particularity from any considerable number of peo- 
ple, is to expect an impossibility. Such expectations, if serious, 
can be the offspring of nothing but ignorance or prejudice. To 
require such a coincidence, as a term of admittance or continu- 
ance in the church, would be madness, and would not fail of 
consequences the most deleterious to the whole body. Unities 
of that kind are not to be expected, unless the days shall re- 
turn when men are willing to sell their consciences to the mother 
of harlots, for the privilege of drinking the cup of her abomina- 
tions ; or, unless the morning shall break forth when creeds, 
confessions of faith, formularies, and liturgies, some more and 
some less excellent, but all imperfect, shall vanish before the 
sun of righteousness, in the glory of the latter day. 

An overt act of impolicy, in one of the highest judicatories 
of the church, whatever might be its nature and tendency, can- 
not be viewed but with concern by every benevolent mind, 
however disinterested or remote. But to such as are deeply 
interested in the welfare of the church ; to such as desire no- 
thing more sincerely than its purity and prosperity, its peace 
and edification, it must cause emotions of deep regret and 
solicitude. But when the nature of the measure is such that 
its impolicy is forgotten iu its injustice and cruelty ; when we 
turn from the generous sensibility of the disinterested spectator ; 
from the painful sensations of those whose chief enjoyment 
arises from the peace and prosperity of the church, what esti- 
mate are we to form of the feelings of those who are the vic- 
tims of this measure, and in a moment to be prostrated by this 
rigorous sentence 1 We will suppose him a young man just en- 
gaged in the sacred work of the ministry ; and engaged with 
all his heart, and all his talents, to promote the truth, according 
531 


242 


to his best views, and to preach the gospel as the instrument 
of turning souls to righteousness. But suddenly he is accused 
of preaching heresy, and the accusation brought home, and his 
condemnation rendered irretrievable by the majestic voice of 
an entire Synod. To these circumstances add the rage and 
triumph of his enemies ; the disappointment, sorrow, and an- 
guish of his friends ; the interest that will be awakened in his 
favour, by those that can feel pity and commiseration ; the ar- 
rows of malignity, that will pursue him as a heretic, apostate, 
hypocrite, and deceiver. What are we to think of such a situa- 
tion ? 

Or we will suppose him among the venerable Fathers whose 
whitened locks and bending form show that his labours are 
nearly past ; and that he is about to appear before the Chief 
Shepherd. He is condemned as an heretic, and must abjure the 
doctrines he has preached for many years, and of the correct- 
ness of whieh he has not a remaining doubt, or must go to his 
grave, not from the portals of the eh«rch on earth, in which he 
has long and successfully laboured ; but as an outcast, a vagrant, 
a leprous amputated member, too corrupt to be preserved or 
healed, must drop into a solitary grave, to rest in disgraceful 
oblivion, or to live in the execrations and calumnies of remem- 
brance. 

And when I consider what numbers in the visible commun- 
ion of this church are thoroughly and conscientiously imbued 
in this strain of doctrine, thus rashly condemned ; when I reflect 
on the spirit of toleration and Christian liberty so gloriously risen 
on the present age, like a phoenix from the ashes of former times, 
but now abused and insulted before the sun ; when I consider 
the immense and venerable body of clergy to the north and eas*t 
deeply implicated in this act, and condemned by this sentence ; 
when I know that these have been the doctrines of revivals, 
sanctioned by the spirit of God in the conversion of thousands 
of souls, I shudder in view of this act — I tremble for its conse- 
quences — I fear for its perpetrators. 

Gentlemen, you surely will not differ with me when I assert, 
that if God has ever made bare his arm for the salvation of souls, 
through the instrumentality of truth, it has been under the preach- 


243 


ing of these doctrines. If, since our forefathers first touched 
these western shores, a blessing has descended from the Re- 
deemer’s throne to his church in this new world, it has been 
under the ministrations of these truths. I leave it, therefore, for 
all mankind to judge, how far the condemnation of these doc- 
trines may be considered as “ fighting against God.” 

If an act so contrary to the liberal and charitable dictates of 
religious toleration, which has broke forth with splendour on 
the present age, and with so much honour and felicity to the 
church of Christ, shall incur the just contempt and reproaches 
of men, how much more dreadful will be His displeasure, be- 
fore whom all nations are as nothing, when those who aspire to 
the blessings of his covenant, dare to affix the seal of their im- 
pious curse on those doctrines on which he has fixed the seal 
of his high and unchangeable approbation. 

Merciful God ! in the day of thy visitations, 0 remember not 
our iniquities against us, for thou knowest we are but dust ! 

To put the best face on things they will bear, and the most 
favourable construction that apathy itself can propose, or the 
most calm, unsullied and charitable mind can think possible, 
let us suppose that none of the violent consequences anticipat- 
ed will follow these gloomy indications of intolerance and per- 
secution ; let us suppose that this act of the Philadelphia Synod, 
and these collateral measures, to keep a certain strain of preach- 
ing, and certain men, out of the great capitals, Philadelphia and 
New-York, are merely designed as present and local remedies ; 
let it be supposed that men of standing and established views, 
though holding this strain of doctrine, will never be molested, 
or an attempt made to drive them from their stations — what 
then ? Is this a complete salvo for all that appears ; — a sopori- 
fic on which the friend of evangelical truth can slumber on in 
security ? What will be the amount of this ? And whither 
does this index of hope point, as the end of ail troubles ? It 
points, gentlemen, to this : that henceforth no minister or licen- 
tiate is to gain admittance into any Presbyterian vacancy unless 
he can be chopped down perfectly into the three-square shape ; 
nor is any one to remain there, unless stretched or clipped to 
the due length of the iron bedstead ; especially if in, or near, 


244 


any place of distinction. Perhaps, indeed, some few, in the 
bosom of solitudes, or defiles of mountains, will not be pursued 
and hunted out by Dr. Buckram’s letters missive ; — perhaps 
some, here and there one, seated in alpine declivities and fast- 
nesses — housed by glaciers, and surrounded by grottoes — cra- 
dled by tempests, and serenaded by cataracts — curtained by the 
wilderness, and fraternized with wild buffaloes, may be let alone 
awhile ; but I aver, however venerable and well established — 
however pious, and however able, if placed in a conspicuous 
station — if the eyes of Argus can discover a crevice in his wall, 
or the hands of Briareus can enter the bar — if the Cyclops 
can forge a bar Jong enough, or the Titans can sway it down, 
they will pry him up, and work him out at last. 

In the mean time, the friends of truth, scouted and distressed, 
scattered and discouraged, will disappear, or, perhaps, some 
will be won over, by smiles, titles, or promotion. Ministers and 
licentiates from the New-England states will perceive every 
avenue of the Presbyterian church shut against them as here- 
tics, and will turn their eyes towards other fields, where the 
ground is not pre-occupied by opposition. And fields of vast 
extent are indeed before them. As for our theological semina- 
ry, it will be in the hands of men who will imbue, if possible, 
every candidate whom they shall instruct and send forth, in a 
deep abhorrence of the “ Hopkinsian heresy and every one will 
go forth under a full impression that he must beat down the odi- 
ous doctrine of disinterested benevolence, and erect selfishness 
on its ruin. 

For precisely the same reason that this narrow and illiberal 
scheme of doctrine is vindicated, as making a part of what is 
called our standard , every sentiment differing from this scheme, 
be it more or less important, will be condemned, and, with 
imposing confidence, censured as repugnant to our confession 
of faith. The advocates of error will not be slow to arm them- 
selves with ecclesiastical censures ; and spiritual thunders will 
be hurled, without discrimination, at “ the Hopkinsian heresy,” 
and all who embrace it. 

I wish it were in my power to say that the Synod of Philadel- 
phia is the only ecclesiastical body which has already acted 


245 


upon this plan : would that my fears were of that ideal class 
which relate to evils merely possible or probable. But has not 
this humiliating scene been acted over much nearer home ? And 
have you not seen, Gentlemen, a Presbytery very recently re- 
fuse to put the call of a highly respectable congregation into 
the hands of a young clergymen of exemplary piety and hand- 
some talents ; at the remonstrance of a very small minority of 
that congregation, comprising not more than one fifth of the 
people, or of the property of the congregation, when it was well 
known that their only objection to him was that he was a Hop- 
kinsian ? 

It is true this very considerable minority, legis fictione , were 
instructed not to expose the nature of their objection against 

Mr. G before the Presbytery, i. e. in foro ecclesice ; but it 

is equally true, that every member of that Presbytery, and in 
foro conscientice , knew perfectly well it was because he was a 
Hop , as, in their dignified style, they called him. Moreover, 
legis fictione , this Presbytery were not to know the grounds of 

the objection of this one-fifth minority to Mr. G . It was 

quite enough for them that one-fifth objected against him, while 
the urgent and importunate request of four-fifths was rejected ; 

and Mr. G himself was rejected, “ sine delicto , sine crimine , 

sine mali sensu .” 

This congregation appealed to the Synod of New-York and 
New- Jersey for relief from this oppressive act ; and to the 
honour of that body be it spoken, the Synod reversed the de- 
cision of that Presbytery, and restored to the congregation their 

right of calling Mr. G to be their minister. But did it end 

here ? Are the congregation and church now allowed to sit down 
in the quiet enjoyment of their dearest and most sacred rights ? 
What do we next see ? A large body of the Synod, headed by 
the very man whom the General Assembly has set at the head 
of the Theological Seminary, and, what is remarkable, the man 
who has endeavoured to distinguish himself as a friend to repub- 
lican principles and the rights of mankind, rose and entered 
their solemn protest against this decision of the Synod, and en- 
couraged the Presbytery to appeal to the General Assembly, 
which they accordingly did. This protest and appeal to the 
21 * 


246 


General Assembly, whatever pretences may be set up, must be 
grounded on two grand principles : 

1. It is of no importance for a Presbytery to know what the 
nature of the objection of a minority may be against a minister. 
If they object merely, it is enough. And as I said above, it will 
often happen, legis fictions , that they must not know, i. e. pre- 
tend to know, what it is. This principle was expressly set up, 
before the Synod, by the learned leader of the protest. He said, 
that a Presbytery was under no obligation to “pump and sift 
out the objections of a minority” to a minister. Would it not 
have been more appropriate to the case, had he said, They had 
better draw the curtain close, and keep every thing snug, than 
to talk about pumping and sifting. The Presbytery was far 
from a disposition to pump and sift ; it was more their object 
to conceal and hide. 

2. The other principle, on which this protest and appeal are 
grounded is, that a majority of voices, even of five to one, ought 
not to be the governing principle with a Presbytery; that though 
four-fifths of a church and congregation, holding also four-fifths 
of the property, desire leave to call a minister, and although the 
nature of the objection of the other fifth is wholly unknown, 
yet, in such a case, the Presbytery have a right to resist the 
call. These are the principles of the champions of liberty. And 
had there been three instead of two, I should have compared 
them to the three frogs which came out of the mouth of the 
dragon, beast, and false prophet : for they were doubtless as 
unclean. 1 appeal to the unbiassed sense and discernment of 
the public, and to the common sense of mankind, whether it be 
reasonable or decorous that a minority should object to a man, 
and not tell the world, and the court before whom that objection 
is brought, what that objection is. And as to the grand ques- 
tion, whether a majority have a right to govern, to say nothing 
of other nations, or of man’s inalienable rights, it is the great 
law of this nation, I may say, both in church and state. Any 
principle or rule set up to abolish this law, will not fail to create 
a most odious tyranny. But when a majority mounts up to 
four or five to one, both in numbers and property ; when the 
resistance of the minority is so feeble as not even to allege any 


247 


accusation, or to table any objection of an explicit form, the 
Presbytery that shall crush and silence that majority, and listen 
to such a minority, usurp a power with which no man, or body 
of men, on earth are clothed by the word of God. 

Moreover, I appeal to the same august tribunal, that the form 

of opposition employed by the minority against Mr. G , 

nay, the very nature of that opposition, rather speaks Mr. 

G ’s eulogium. Had they had any objection to him as a 

preacher, or as a man ; had they thought lightly of his talents, 
or doubted his character ; in short, had there been any con- 
siderable objection against him, which could, with propriety or 
decency, with justness or safety, have been mentioned and 
urged against him, the minority would have felt no delicacy in 
declaring it. For, indeed, there is no delicacy in a transaction 
of that solemn and important nature. When I am to choose a 
minister, a pastor, a teacher, under whose instructions I am to 
sit down for life — if I know of any just reason for withholding 
from him my suffrage, I shall certainly make it known to him, 
and to others ; and, above all, to that judicatory who are to be 
influenced by it. And if I have any just conceptions of the 
dictates of common sense, when a Presbytery perceive that a 
very great majjority are desirous to give a minister a call, and 
a small minority come forward and object to the measure, but 
refuse to make known the nature of their objection, that it can- 
not be regarded as worthy of notice by any judicatory. It 
must be presumed that they are ashamed of their own objection, 
and by that consideration alone are prevented from declaring 
it. And I suspect this was not far from being the case in the 
affair of Mr. G . 

I should not, Gentlemen, have been thus particular in this de- 
tail, but I perceive in it an organized form of opposition to 
that strain of doctrine which I believe to be the truth, and 
against those men who dare to preach that doctrine. It is 

perfectly well known that the objection to Mr. G was 

from no other cause ; for no other reason did the minority re- 
fuse to state the nature of the objection ; and, I add, for no 
other reason did the Presbytery refuse to pass the call to Mr. 
G . Let me reverse the table, and I shall throw convic- 


248 


tion into the face of all parties, that what 1 say is true. Let it y 
for a moment, be supposed that that minority had been Hopkin- 
sians, and objected to Mr. G , do you not think their objec- 

tions would have been “ pumped and sifted” out 1 Do you be- 
lieve, gentlemen, that that Presbytery would then have resisted 
the call ? Nobody can believe it. Do you believe that, in that 
case, you would have heard the solemn protest, with such ten- 
der girdings of conscience, against the reversing act of the 
Synod, and the solemn appeal which is to carry the whole bu- 
siness up to the General Assembly ? I say, had the minority been 
Hopkinsians, and the Presbytery, at their remonstrance, arrest- 
ed the call of such an overwhelming majority of the Synod — re- 
versed the decree of the Presbytery, do you believe you could 
have heard the same voices lifted in a protest, vindicated by 
such astonishing principles ? Would you, in that case, have 
heard it unblushingly urged, that a minority may object, with- 
out reason, yet prevailingly, against a minister, while a majority 
of five to one shall be crushed in their application to a Presby- 
tery for a call ? 

No, gentlemen, if this minority had been Hopkinsians, this 
whole train of events would have been reversed. We should 
not have heard a pretty face, with many kind simpers, deplore 
the fate of that congregation, yet, with solemn pomposity, de- 
clare, that the minority must be supported, and the majority of 
five to one crushed and silenced before them ; — and why ? Be- 
cause that is the proper, just, and rational course of the thing. 
Let me not shrink from the truth, which is eternal and impe- 
rishable : it was because they wished to call a man deemed a 
Hopkinsian. 

In this shape it must go before the General Assembly, the 
supreme Presbyterial court of this country. And in the sight of 
God and men, it will be neither more nor less than the trial of 
the grand question, whether a church and congregation shall 
have a right to settle a Hopkinsian minister. For, with men of 
thought and discernment, the shades of difference between a 
majority, five to one, and a unanimous call, are trifling as they 
relate to the urgency and just claims of that call. The rights 
of a bare majority to call and settle a minister, even when an 


249 


almost equal minority are resolute in their opposition, and 
pointed and definite in their objections, have rarely been ques- 
tioned ; but when the disparity stands five to one, both in num- 
bers and property, it forms a case which comes, probably, near 
to a level with the ordinary condition of calls — which rarely are 
unanimous. 

I have already stated that the nature of the objection to Mr. 

G , though understood, was kept out of sight before the 

Presbytery. I will here say nothing, how far that rule of civil 
courts, which admits nothing to come before the higher court of 
appeal but what was agitated, both as to matter and form, in the 
court below, is proper to be regarded as a rule in the church of 
Christ, though I will not disguise my fears that our ecclesiastical 
judicatories are travelling with hasty and dangerous strides to- 
wards the tedious and bewildering forms, the technical language, 
and the artful sophistry of civil courts, and I suspect that many 
of our parliamentary, legal, and courtly phrases would strike the 
ear of a primitive Christian, or an apostle, with surprise. How- 
ever that may be, the nature of the objection to Mr. G. , 

not appearing in Presbytery, or Synod, will not appear in the Ge- 
neral Assembly. Yet, as in both Presbytery and Synod it was 
well understood, so I trust it will be in the General Assembly ; 
like an invisible genius, it was the moving-spring of action in 
the Presbytery and Synod, whether the ball thrown in was 
marked with A. or C. ; and, of course, as every thing goes from 
the lower to the higher court, that must go with the rest, in statu 
quo. 

But, Gentlemen, where is Mr. G during this tedious pe- 

riod of “ the law’s delay ?” What is the condition of that pa* 
rish and congregation ? However trifling their division at first, 
are the aspects of things, which, at every change, become more 
and more threatening, calculated to compose their differences, 
and to soothe their contentions ? Exposed to the rod, first of a 
Presbytery, then of an extensive and venerated Synod, and now, 
last of all, of the General Assembly, a body extended through 

the continent, Mr. G must possess uncommon fortitude if 

he be not depressed, and, perhaps, discouraged. He well knows 


250 


the cause why this storm, which must finally agitate the whole 
American church, in relation to his own case, has been set in 
operation against him. He knows, if justice had been done him 
at first, that the persons opposed to him would have been required 
to explain their objections, and, of course, that the Presbytery 
would scarcely have dared to resist his call, or if they had, it 
would have been done above board, and under no ambiguous or 
fictitious colourings. 

Gentlemen, what influence will these proceedings have on the 
minds of young men preparing for the ministry, in all parts of 
this country ? Are we to believe they are wholly free from a,ll 
selfish feelings, from all liability to be warped by views of po- 
pularity, by prospects of speedy and advantageous settlements ? 
Is every one of them a Luther, a Knox, an Edwards — ready to 
face all opposition, and brave all dangers for the cause of truth ? 
Are they all in a situation to come to an unbiassed knowledge of 
the truth 1 These are serious considerations, and, I presume, will 
have their due impression on your minds. 

That truth has made progress in this country is as evident as 
it is that God has poured out his spirit on his churches — is as 
evident as it is that religious freedom and toleration have here 
first showered their blessings on mankind. The same spirit is 
opposed to both, and is equally free and bold to declare the 
latter profane licentiousness, and the former, error and delusion, 
and a departure from “ the form of sound words.’’ The sun 
from a cloudless meridian is not more visible than that a pow- 
erful diversion is making in opposition to both, and is beginning 
to arm itself, not with evidence, argument, or moral suasion — 
not by addressing the understandings and consciences of men, 
but with the varied forms of personal influence, extensive in- 
terests, and ecclesiastical censures — with pecuniary funds, es- 
tablishments, and institutions. And this incessant harping on 
the reformers, and doctrines of the Reformation, this leaning 
towards the established churches in Europe, which are no mo- 
dels for us, is but bringing round a sweep of influence, and set- 
ting up, as a mark, a kind of “ unity of the faith,” which is for- 
ever to exterminate all freedom of opinion and inquiry, and 


251 


eventually all liberty of conscience. And it reminds me of an 
anecdote 1 lately read in the life of Pizarro. He had been, 
on a certain occasion, treated with great hospitality by a tribe 
of Indians ; and when, some time after, he was at war with that 
tribe, and had besieged their last fortress, his generous feelings 
wrought so upon him, on recollecting their former kindness, 
that he determined to spare the place, and forbade his soldiers 
plundering it. His little army was generally pleased with the 
proposition, especially the young Castilian warriors, who imme- 
diately resolved not to put the people to the sword, nor seize 
their effects. But a stern inquisitorial priest, says the writer, 
knit his eyebrows on Pizarro, and replied, “ What ! are you then 
willing to let these abominable idolaters escape with their ef- 
fects, and not bow their necks to the yoke of the faith ? No ! 
they shall he converted , or they shall die !” Pizarro, fearing to 
exasperate this holy father, was compelled to yield the town to 
the sword, and to the rapacity of these advocates for the yoke of 
the faith. 

And, gentlemen, may heaven long defend us from the yoke 
of the faith worn by the protestant churches of Europe, even 
the best of them. Their churches and clergy were interwoven 
with their government, and the state was made an instrument 
of their church, and the church a tool of the state. Harpur, in 
his “ Observations,” page 51, remarks, that “ when the armies 
of Bonaparte entered the Seven United Provinces, he proceed- 
ed immediately to confiscate the property of the Belgic clergy, 
which amounted to the moderate sum of two hundred and fifty 
millions of dollars.” A tolerable good living for the honest 
Dutchmen, by which they have made the yoke of the faith, no 
doubt, very strong, and as comfortable as may be. 

I said they were arming themselves with the means and in- 
fluence of institutions, of which the rejection of Mr. C as 

a missionary, alluded to in the preceding number, is an instance. 
And although the leader in that magnanimous act is not a mem- 
ber of the Presbyterian church, yet he is a member of one of 
those churches whose speedy union with the Presbyterian 
church is hailed with such rapture in the famous Pastoral Letter 
of the Synod of Philadelphia. 


252 


My motive, gentlemen, in these particular allusions, is to show 
that opposition to truth is concentrated to a focus, and is di- 
recting its efforts to bar the way, as much as possible, against 
ministers and licentiates of this strain of doctrine; and the cases 

of Mr. C , of Mr. D , of Mr. F , of Mr. G , and 

of Mr. S , are in point, and shed as much light upon the 

subject as they do darkness upon the conduct, the management, 
the intrigue, resorted to on those occasions. 

Unless it be presumed that every youth is possessed of in- 
vincible firmness and incorruptible integrity, a state of things is 
fast forming which will be too great a trial for common energy, 
talents, and fidelity to resist ; and every young man about en- 
tering the ministry will count the cost — will see at once what 
scheme of doctrine must render him acceptable, popular, and a 
candidate for the most conspicuous stations ; and what scheme 
will expose him to frowns, opposition, and charges of heresy — 
will even prevent his receiving a call, though four-fifths of a 
congregation were disposed to give it — will expose him to the 
censure of Presbytery, Synod, and, perhaps, the General Asssem- 
bly : nay, if he be amicably settled, will expose him to be un- 
dermined, slandered, abused, and, perhaps, ultimately ejected. 
Under these circumstances, which part will he take ? And hav- 
ing, been swayed by interest and popular favor, at the ex- 
pense of truth, in the outset of his career, what will he be af- 
terward? A tool for others to work with, till he finds himself 
in a condition to use such tools as he himself once was — a trim- 
mer — a weathercock ; any thing which the pliant qualities of a 
Proteus can be wrought into ; any which the service of his su- 
periors may require, and every thing which his interest and am- 
bition may dictate. 

But motives prior to all these will be effectually laid in the 
way of young men, looking towards the ministry. They must 
go to a theological seminary : and to the honor of that semi- 
nary be it spoken, they have not expelled, as yet, for holding 
correct sentiments ; but from the appearance of things, in pro - 
gressu, that event is soon to be expected. The principle part, 
nay, almost all who receive their education there, come out, 
thoroughly and finishedly triangular. They go forth and preach 


253 


all the points of imputation , contended for by any one : — a 
limited atonement — know nothing about moral inability, and 
count that important distinction, as a most promising young 
divine of this city lately declared before the New-York Pres- 
bytery, nothing but “ hodge podge — make all religion to con- 
sist in faith — a mystical principle above all creature perfection, 
or conception : — disinterested benevolence a scarecrow, and a 
little selfishness a very good thing : — that people must, by no 
means, be willing to be damned, in order that they may be 
saved : — that moral virtue is quite an Old Testament, Jewish 
economy, Arminian affair, and out of date ; metaphysics, ugly 
things : — that people must love Christ, because he is about to 
save them, and surely they would be very ungrateful if they did 
not : — that the non-elect will be condemned for not believing 
that Christ died for them, because they do not know but that 
he did die for them. They never fail to impress the hearer that 
he is, in every sense, unable to do his duty, yet will be condemn- 
ed for not doing it : — that he ought to believe in Christ, though 
faith is a divine principle implanted, and can be given to none but 
those whose debt to justice Christ has paid : — that men are moral 
agents to do wrong, but not to do right ; and, in a word, that 
sinners are not in a state of probation. 

Gentlemen, 

If we enjoy the honour and felicity of belonging to the first 
nation on earth, where the sacred rights of civil and religious 
liberty have been fully established — if in consequence of these 
peculiar privileges, accompanied with the still greater blessing 
of the light and influence of God’s spirit, progress has been 
made in religious knowledge, and as we approach nearer to the 
time of the consummation of the glory of the church militant, the 
Christian church has gained a happier remove from the grounds 
she formerly occupied, entangled with civil government and 
politics ; and, on the confines of darkness and superstition, shall 
we., after this, retrace our steps, and return back into Egypt, or 
into the wilderness of Sin 1 

Is this the strain of doctrine, and this alone, henceforth to 
be regarded as canonical 1 The strain every man must adopt 
and promote, or be deemed a heretic, and a revolter from our 
22 


254 


standard ? Shall our young men who deviate from this be re- 
jected as missionaries, prevented from receiving calls where 
congregations are disposed to call them, and turned away 
from places where they are already settled ? Shall the resources 
of the General Assembly be called forth to found a Divinity 
College, to promote this "plan of instruction ? Shall dollar socie- 
ties, cent societies, mite societies, be organized ? Shall con- 
tributions, donations, and every mode of voluntary taxation be 
resorted to, in all parts of this extensive country, to erect edifi- 
ces, institute professorships, scholarships, and all other kinds of 
ships, to promote this distorted, halting, debasing, scheme of 
error ? Can the blessing of God be expected to follow this ob- 
vious retrogradation 1 For it is impossible not to perceive a 
driving backward in the strain of doctrine and discipline in many 
who, by their forwardness and imposing attitude, in all our judica- 
tories, would fain not only be thought leaders, but be such in the 
most absolute sense of the word. 

They loudly scoff at all idea or notion of any improvement 
in doctrine or discipline, as made in this country. Though, 
doubtless, if religious knowledge and doctrine ever made any 
progress in any country, it has been in New-England, that land 
which is scarcely named in connexion with religion without a 
sneer. And if the spirit of God has ever been poured out in 
religious revivals, it is there ; yet, at those revivals, the finger 
of scorn is pointed, and the sneers of contempt are not wanting. 
I do not say that the seminary will support, exclusively, that 
scheme of doctrine and those intolerant and destructive mea- 
sures. I can only judge from what I have seen and heard, and 
perhaps a full experiment has not been made ; but I say if they 
do, they will prove a scourge and not a blessing to the church — 
will draw down the wrath, and not the smiles of heaven upon the 
whole denomination. 

An unknown weight of responsibility lies on the founders, di- 
rectors, and instructors ©f that Institution. It commits the in- 
terests of a rising, and hitherto prosperous church, to few hands — 

I fear too few. The training of a ministry shall exert an influ- 
ence not only immediate and perceptible, but remote, extend- 
ed, progressive, and without end it has the power to purify 


255 


or corrupt the doctrinal and moral sentiments of a nation, and 
to all future generations. A corrupt teacher may certainly pro- 
ceed from a very pure and correct institution ; as also may a 
very correct teacher from a polluted fountain of instruction. 
But, generally speaking, the scholar will be like his master, and 
a variation from this rule is generally on the unfavourable side. 

But I ask, in thesi , i. e. merely as a case supposable, what if 
the master be a non liquet ? What if, after having preached 
twenty years the doctrines of general atonement, moral ina- 
bility, universal offers of salvation, and man’s probationary state, 
nobody knows it? What if, after having deeply bewailed the 
lax practice of the church, for years, he performs prodigies 
in converting young men to that practice ; nay, and performs 
journeys to administer it, and keep its adheients in countenance, 
lest they should be discouraged ; thus supporting the practice 
which he bewails, and defeating the practice in which he be- 
lieves ? This might be a great stretch of benevolence. But, 
Gentlemen, if you make the pillars of your building of the wil- 
low, the superincumbent arches must be light and buoyant, or 
they cannot be sustained. 

Gentlemen, I perceive a current, in these times, whose drift 
is rapid, broad, and strong. I have stated my apprehensions 
freely ; nor have 1 a doubt that they are just. As to the furious 
censures that many will hurl at these suggestions, I regard them 
as chaff ; and the neglect, which others will consider as a better 
revenge, I shall not feel. I have as much at stake, in these 
concerns, as any person living, and no more : — the eternal ap- 
probation of God is to be gained or lost by us all, and the so- 
lemn hour when that great and unalterable decision is to be made, 
is near and approaching. Neither the reflections contained in 
this or the preceding numbers, or series, are the offspring of 
haste or passion ; they have resulted from long observation, and 
deliberate conviction. The drift I see is from light to darkness — 
the movement is retrograde ; and if the golden calf, which is to 
lead back to Egypt, is not already cast, and shown to the camp, 
I shall be glad. 

Your talents, your long experience, your conspicuous stations, 
your standing in the public confidence, and your correct senti- 


256 


ments, are pledges which the church holds, that your exertions 
in the cause of truth will be equally distinguished and decided. 
I am, Gentlemen, with great respect, 
your obedt. Servant, 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. V. 

It is done. The extraordinary scene which has agitated the 
public mind for some time, is closed, and closed in a manner 
which ought to fill every pious mind with alarm — every inde- 
pendent mind with new circumspection and resolution — every 
generous mind with indignation. The young men’s Missionary 
Society, in this city, by a majority of 160 to 90, have con- 
demned Mr. C as holding heretical doctrine, on the sole 

ground of his being a Hopkinsian. Thus, a young man of most 
unblemished moral character, of ardent piety, and uncommon 
talents, is laid under the odium of public censure ; is rejected by 
the missionary board, and overwhelmed with all the disgrace 
which the ultimate censure of that society can carry with it to 
every extremity of the Union. 

But do the people of this city consider what this censure im- 
plies, and how far it extends 1 Are they aware that it extends to 
a very great proportion of professing Christians in the city ? It 
reaches every man who does not come fully up to the horrible 
and loathsome restrictions of the triangle ; to every man who 
does not believe the whole human race deserving of eternal dam- 
nation for Adam’s first act ; that Christ made propitiation for none 
but the elect ; that all men were not only condemned for Adam’s 
first act, but utterly incapacitated thereby, in a way which has no 
connexion with their disinclination, to obey God ; or, in other 
words, that their inability, caused by Adam’s sin, does not consist 
in want of will to obey God. 

Citizens, is every man in this city and country to be con- 


257 


demned and disgraced as an heretic, who does not come up to 
these monstrous opinions 1 Imagination can scarcely reach to 
the atrocity and insolence of this whole business. The men 
who have condemned an innocent and worthy young man, 
claim to be Calvinists. They claim to be what they are not. 
Calvin never .disgraced religion so much as to teach the doc- 
trines they teach. I have told you, in the Preface of the First 
Series, what Calvin thought of original sin. It was at the same 
distance from their views of it, that I am ; and as to a general 
atonement, these men have been called upon, in vain, to show 
that Calvin denied it. They cannot show it ; and there is much 
reason to believe that this young man, whom they have con- 
demned, does not differ from Calvin in his views of the atone- 
ment. 

The doctrine of a general atonement has been the great doc« 
trine of the Church in all ages, and almost all its sections. It 
has been denied as rarely as the divinity of Christ ; and if the 
whole Christian Church be considered, and the whole period of 
its duration, it will be found that as many have denied the di- 
vinity of Christ, as the doctrine of universal propitiation for 
sin. 

But, citizens, you are told that the Socinians of Boston, and 
that region, are sprung from Hopkinsianism. You are told this 
by men who are ready to assert any thing that will answer their 
present purposes. Never was a more obvious or infamous 
falsehood asserted. The Socinians of those parts are descended 
from such men as opposed and ridiculed the reformations un- 
der Whitelield ; such men as drove Jonathan Edwards from 
Northampton ; such men as have ever opposed Edwards, West, 
Bellamy, and Hopkins, for the last fifty years, on the same 
grounds, and for the same reasons, that they are opposed in this 
city — the Antinomian ground. 

And I here repeat the observation made in the first number 
of the first series of this work, that the strain of doctrine pre- 
dominant in this city, or, at least, in many churches of it, will 
present no barrier to vice or error, but will ultimately prepare 
the way for both. 

Yet dangerous and fatal as this scheme of doctrine is, could 
22 * 


258 


truth and error have been left to a fair and open conflict, I 
would have preferred to have descended to my grave in silence, 
assured that, wherever that conflict is carried on, on equal 
ground, victory must crown the advocates of truth. But here 
it has been far otherwise. While truth was hushed, and hissed, 
and terrified into total silence — while no man presumed to lift 
his voice against the torrent of opinion and prejudice, which 
rolled on broad and deep as the Ganges — while pulpits thun- 
dered, presses groaned, and conversation murmured with exe- 
crations and anathemas, against a strain of doctrine of which 
the people were kept in perfect ignorance, it was time that a 
record of facts was published : — “ and after the manner which 
they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers.” 

INVESTIGATOR. 


269 


PREFACE TO THE FOURTH SERIES. 


The resentment which certain individuals still maintain, and 
continually express, against the Triangle, and which, whether the 
breeze whispers or storm roars, still reverberates through the city, 
excites in me various sentiments, but no variation of purpose. 
Regarded in the light of a furious, relentless, arrogant, and haughty 
intolerance, I cannot but hear it with contempt ; but considered, 
as in many instances it is, as the result of prejudices corroborated 
from the cradle, or of ignorance of equal age and respectability, 
I cannot but feel concern mingled with pity. 

Had not a course of events occurred in this city, since this 
publication began, which have fully justified most of the asser- 
tions in the former numbers, and especially in the first ; had not 
these events been witnessed by the public eye, attested by the 
public ear, and sanctioned by the official acts of public bodies, 
this continual and furious roar of execration might be thought 
less extraordinary, and perhaps more excusable. 

The Triangle is accused of three capital faults : of laying 
false accusations, of using indecent language, and of advancing 
corrupt sentiments. 

In relation to the first of these charges, the city of New-York 
may judge for herself, how much exaggeration I have been guilty 
of ; when she has lately heard the whole body of these men 
fiercely implead the Hopkinsians at the public bar, and lay to 
their charge, not merely in the idle slang of chimney-corner 
debate, but before a large Missionary Society, almost every grade, 
species, and aggravation of error, such as Socinian, Deistical., 
and Atheistical heresies. And, reader, when you hear these 
charges thundered from the house top, and propagated by the 
trumpet’s blast, can you be weak enough to believe that it has not 
long been the theme of their perpetual tattle, their gossiping, 
their whispers, and intrigue. You may not know it ; I do. 

And as I said, at first, but which doubtless was not heeded, this 
controversy, this furious contention has, as it did in the Mis- 
sionary Society, in every instance, begun with these men. They 
have sought the quarrel — have waged the battle — have given the 
provocation — have premeditated the attack — have thrown down 
the gauntlet — have bared their weapons, in every instance. The 


260 


advocates of Hopkinsian sentiments, from their arrival in this city, 
earnestly, anxiously, laboriously, humbly, and, I may certainly 
add, prayerfully, studied the peace and quiet of the city, and of 
the church. Yet, as I said, the most industrious measures were 
presently taken to root them out, and the whole art and science 
of attack, in all its variations, was long practised upon them. 

And, reader, one day you shall know, in spite of all your 
reluctance, that I have not exaggerated on this point. 

With reference to indecent language, I shall say little. The 
language of sarcasm is often resorted to, and I most conscien- 
tiously believe, if ever admissible, in any case, it was on these 
occasions. The spirit of bigotry and intolerance affected in this 
free country — the figure and phiz of a noli me tangere gossiping 
about in this free and enlightened city — the contour of a man’s 
character and conduct, who shall here set himself up as a little 
spiritual despot, are things too contemptible and base, too daring 
and audacious, to merit systematic and solemn argument. It is 
hardly worth while to erect a scaffold for punishing a spider, when 
you can crush him with your foot. 

As to satire and raillery, and sometimes couched in tolerably 
gross phrases, I must beg these humble admirers of great men to 
read Dr. Witherspoon’s “ Characteristics,” while, at the same 
time, I exhort some whose consciences are so terribly wounded 
by the Triangle, to be careful not to strain at a gnat, and swal- 
low a camel, in their behaviour concerning it. 

Whether the Triangle advances corrupt sentiments, the eter- 
nal fountain of light and truth will judge. Much of the rage of 
these tender-hearted men is levelled at this article. For as to 
censures, sarcasm, raillery, and abuse, if they have been in the 
habit of attending various churches in this city, they have heard 
as much from the pulpit, and probably smiled, nodded assent, or 
slept under it, and thought it very well said. 

I blame no man for opposing the sentiments of the Triangle. 
But, as the quaint proverb says, “ there is a thing different from 
that thing.” They have not such a flaming disinterested love of 
truth as to be up in arms, when mere error is advanced. The 
tremendous crime committed is, that some one has dared to tell 
men what they do. But the half — the thousandth part has not 
been told. 

The most deplorable state of society is that in which a set of 
men claim, and enjoy, the prescriptive privilege of saying and 
doing what they please, when to trace their steps, and lay open 
their conduct, is judged an unpardonable crime. This is slavery 
of the deepest shade, and most miserable character ; and in this 
way people, if they are let alone, will rivet their own chains 
will, like the people of Rome, be the first to immolate Brutus 
and Cassius, who had fairly broken them* 


261 


But the free discussions which have lately agitated this city, and 
which bigots, spiritual Lords would be, and some near-sighted 
people have regarded as the most dreadful of all dreadfuls, have 
already produced the most happy effects. The veil is rent, the 
prescriptive sovereignty of prejudice, superstition, and mysticism, 
is abolished, and the reign of spiritual despotism is at an end. 
The Phoenix has arisen ; a society of more than five hundred men 
is formed, who know they have a right to think for themselves. 

In the mean time, I wish the triangular men every degree of 
happiness and good fortune. Demeaning themselves as good and 
virtuous citizens, I hope they will be loved and respected as such : 
I only wish them suspected and despised where they attempt to 
throw over people’s heads the thongs of intolerance, which every 
man has more reason to hate and fear than he would the horrid 
bow-string of the eastern despot. Let them rest assured that I 
think them worthy of liberty, but not to reign. 

And, for the good men so terribly put out with the Triangle, I 
must beg them to be composed, and devote the exuberance of 
their time and talents a little more exclusively to the cultivation of 
their own virtues, by which means, I think, society would receive 
benefit. They might, in this way, render themselves very agreea- 
ble and useful companions. But among authors, and in public 
disputes, they will not be able to effect much. I question whether 
the writers of the present day will think it worth while to ask 
them what they may write. I fear their uneasiness arises from 
too high an opinion of their own importance : men may become 
very extravagant on this point. It is recorded of two Roman 
Emperors, I believe Dioclesian and Galerius, that they once, in 
conversation, expressed themselves in the following couplets : 

Diocl. “ When I am dead and in my urn 
May earth and fire together burn, 

And all the world to cinders turn.” 

Gal. “ Nay, while I live I would desire, 

To set the universe on fire.” 





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THE TRIANGLE 


FOURTH SERIES. 



No. I. 

The existence of various denominations of Christians, while 
it certainly evinces human imperfection, yet does not certainly 
prove the whole Church more corrupt, or more liable to de- 
clension, than she would be under a greater uniformity of senti- 
ment, and one general communion. This remark is justified 
by the history of the Church, while as yet there had been 
few secessions from the Romish communion. Though this 
consideration cannot diminish the obligation of every Christian 
to seek for greater unity, and to desire greater uniformity, in the 
whole Christian world, yet it should be regarded as a motive to 
fervent charity, to Christian forbearance, and a spirit of tolera- 
tion. 

The tower of Babel began to rise, while the whole human 
family spake one language ; and whilst the whole Christian 
world formed, comparatively speaking, but one ehurch, Con- 
stantine planned and organized her government after the model 
of the Roman empire, and made the dignitaries of each con- 
formable and equal to the other ; and the great lords of the 
church were quite satisfied and highly gratified, now, in such 
times, that Christ’s kingdom should become a kingdom of this 
world. 

A certain class of men have sufficiently instructed mankind 


264 


to believe, that uniformity of doctrine may be advocated and 
desired, from far other motives than love to the truth. Indeed, 
when we see a man furious for union, and becoming violently 
intolerant, you may be as certain that he acts from sinister mo- 
tives as that he acts at all. But whatever may be the motives 
©f such men, how mistaken are they in the means by which 
they seek to gain their object ! They cannot but incur suspi- 
cion — they cannot escape detection. Censure, hatred, and ma- 
levolence, are but different methods of bringing people over to 
their cause ; and their policy, in any free country, will drive 
away ten persons, where it will conciliate one. You will hear 
them constantly talking what glorious times we should have, stnd 
what great things would be done, if all held to “ the form of 
sound word '.” Ah ! glorious times indeed ! If all would unite 
in one church, and make these men chief rulers, they might 
immediately commence the building “ of a city, and of a 
tower that would reach unto heaven.” Their rage for union 
arises from the facility it would give to their schemes of ambi- 
tion. 

In the divisions of the Church of Christ, however much 
blame may be attributed to men, there still is evident the hand 
of God. These divisions are to be viewed in no other light 
than that of their instrumental causes. The Almighty Ruler of 
the Church, and of the world, could have prevented them — 
could have caused that all his people should be of one heart, 
and of one mind ; and it is believed that such a day as that will 
come. But, reader, if that day should come, it would be no 
day of rejoicing for these furious intolerant persecutors for uni- 
formity : it would answer their purposes still far less than the 
present divided state of the Church, when they are quite in a 
rage because so few will follow their standard. The day of the 
Lord will be to many of them “ a day of darkness and gloomi- 
ness, a day of clouds and thick darkness.” When therefore, 
they pray for the day of the Lord, they know not what they pray 
for. 

As in heaven itself, there will be no object gratifying to the 
proud and selfish heart, so the real prosperity of Christ’s 


265 


Church will not answer one of the purposes of many who are 
now most petulant and clamorous for union. It will not in- 
crease their fame or influence ; it will put them in no better 
humour than they now are ; it will not cause people to flock 
after them ; and it is a great wonder, if it do not put a period 
to all their plans for building up the Church, and throw them 
into the shade of oblivion. 

The divisions and errors of Christians are suffered by Christ, 
as a trial of the faith, the patience, and charity of his people. 
And I have often imagined to myself, how beautiful and love- 
ly the whole Church might appear, even notwithstanding she 
lies in different apartments, did she but live, in all her mem- 
bers, in the exercise of fervent charity. There certainly is a 
limit of charity, as there is a degree of error, beyond which it 
cannot extend. But that is a barrier so palpable, and the fea- 
tures of heresy are so full and strong, that Christians, exercis- 
ing the temper and spirit of their profession, need be at no dif- 
ficulty to discover them. But under the exercises of that pure 
and heavenly temper, the differences of Christians about the 
minor articles and distinctions of doctrine, would be very like- 
ly to vanish before the light of evidence. Such would be the 
candour, the frankness, the simplicity, and plainness, with which 
every man would point out what he supposed to be erroneous 
in his brethren, having no motive for their conviction, but a 
disinterested desire to promote their spiritual good ; and they, 
none to maintain their ground, but what sprang from love to 
the truth, there would be a strong probability of the final adjust- 
ment of their differences of opinion ; since truth is always 
more obvious than error, and the state and proportion of evi- 
dence is ordinarily in favour of truth. A man has no motive 
to be angry with a fellow creature for differing from his opinion : 
for his views of religion, he is accountable to God alone, be- 
fore whom he is soon to answer for his faith and practice. 

It is nothing but the combination of selfish views and worldly 
schemes with religion, that kindles up sectarian jealousy and 
intolerant party animosities. It is, indeed, for the most part, 
rank covetousness and base avarice that prompts to bigotry and 
intolerance. Let it become indifferent where a man paid his 
23 


266 


money, or gave his attendance to public worship, and this 
dreadful fear of Hopkinsian innovations would forever be done 
away — this terrible moralphobia would be cured — this pretend- 
ed holy jealousy of Arminian tenets would quickly grow cool. 
It is your cash, citizens, that is the sovereign charm ; it is your 
combination with their views of interest that sharpens the edge 
of their weapons, which fly so thick and fast ; — it is the majesty 
of crowded assemblies of followers, the gratifying conscious- 
ness of a supposed ascendant influence, that blows the furnace 
of their zeal into a seven-fold heat. It is not a care for your 
salvation, but an ambition to controul your faith : — it is not the 
fear of heresy, but fear for a favourite system, on which their 
popularity depends — a system supported by pride and ambition 
that prompts their intolerance. 

But their attempts are vain, and their zeal shall dissolve like 
smoke in the air. The Genius of my country will not be 
crushed by the arm of spiritual despotism ; she has triumphed 
where thunders roared and lightnings played their volleys — 
and a voice more loud than thunder, more piercing than the 
lightning’s shaft, shall wither this impotent rage. The voice of 
truth shall yet prevail. 

Having proceeded thus far on this essay, I received the fol- 
lowing letter, in which, I think, the reader will find amusement, 
if not instruction. 

TO THE INVESTIGATOR. 

Sir, 

I perceive, by your former numbers, that you sometimes 
dream. I must say by you, as the Spectator said some of his 
correspondents used to say of him, that they wished he would 
sleep oftener. But that you may know that other folks dream 
sometimes as well as yourself, I make bold to send you a dream 
of my own, and if you think proper, you may give it a place 
in the Triangle, though I think you and your readers must al- 
low it to be a quadrangular dream. 

If it be true, ( that, “ from the multitude of business the 


267 


dream cometh,” you need not be much at a loss what I am, 
or into what company I have fallen. 

I am, sir, your very 
humble servant, 

S. C. SOMNIFICATOR. 

I fancied myself standing in the court-yard of an edifice of 
great size and regular proportions. This court was spacious, 
far exceeding in extent any thing I had ever seen, seeming to 
contain an extensive [field. Its surface was smooth and green, 
and interspersed with shady trees, aromatic shrubs, and clumps 
of rare and beautiful flowers. Marble fountains, and jet d’eaus 
of pure water, variously disposed, gave freshness to the verdure ; 
while birds of bright plumage and melodious notes disported 
through the shades, filling the scene with life, cheerfulness, 
and beauty.* This spacious court, with a gradual assent to- 
wards the building, was bordered on one side with rich and 
cultivated fields to an interminable extent, which in remote 
distance disclosed hills, valleys, and mountains ; on another, it 
was skirted by a vast forest whose trees were tall, and whose 
foliage was deep and bold. In the remaining direction, it 
opened to a distant view of the ocean. The edifice, compared 
to which all the buildings I ever saw would appear inconsider- 
able, and which, whether palace, tower, or temple, my eye 
seemed unable to determine, faced the east, and as, at that 
juncture, it was illuminated by the cheerful beams of an ascend- 
ing sun, its appearance was bright and glorious beyond concep- 
tion. 

A peculiar tranquillity reigned everywhere ; the distant 
ocean seemed to slumber in peace beneath a calm and cloud- 
less canopy, curling in silver morris to the breeze ; the gentle 
waving of the forest showed the quiet of the elements, while 
over the wide country seemed the sacred smile of the sabbath. 
In the grand courts, and round the spacious buildings, I saw 

* The American people may be said to form the outer court to the visible 
church. The forest represents the savage nations. — Investigator. 


268 


many persons whose appearance spoke the language of peace 
and concord ; — and they were all dressed in white.* 

In a scene so entirely new, and so grand and charming, I was 
wholly at a loss where I could be ; whether I had fallen upon 
some neighbouring planet ; whether it was the celestial para- 
dise, or whether I had been transported by some invisible 
power, to contemplate the beauties of the morning star, I could 
not tell. 

Finding myself alone, and fearing I might trespass on some 
sacred enclosure, forbidden to the foot of a stranger, I was in 
suspense what course to pursue, and seemed scarcely to ven- 
ture to move from my position. But on turning towards the 
building, I perceived that it bore no marks of royalty, as there 
were nothing of the equipage or pageantry of monarchs about 
it. It was no fortress of war, as none of the military munitions, 
or guards, were to be seen. It resembled not a palaee of pleas- 
ure, and though it seemed the seat of cheerfulness and tranquil- 
lity, there were no indications of hilarity and mirth, nothing of 
the daring and dissolute, the fierce gentleness, and threatening 
urbanity, which marks the polished air of fashionable parties of 
pleasure. 

As little did it bear the marks of domiciliary habitude, as 
was evident from its amazing size and grandeur, and from the 
absence of the domestic appearance of all houses, from the su- 
perbest palace to the humblest cottage.! 

Emboldened by these appearances of peace and order, I 
walked towards the edifice, and fwas amazed at its stupendous 
height and dimensions. I passed various parties leisurely walk- 
ing among the shades, enjoying the fragrance of the flowers, 
and the pleasantness of a region so entirely delightful. I could 
distinguish none of their conversation, but the air of tranquillity 
and reflection, bordering on devotion, which was obvious in 
their gesture and countenance, bespoke something sublime and 
awful, and I perceived must have some connexion with religion. 

As I approached, I perceived the building was in three parts ; 
its site resembling three sides of a hollow square, open on the 

* White was the ancient, as well as modern token of peace. — 1, 

t The church is a spiritual edifice, resembling no other building,—/. 


269 


side I was approaching. This square, made by the recess of the 
central building, and by the projecting of the wings on either 
side, formed a majestic inner court, and was divided into three 
compartments, separated by rows of lofty pillars, and corres- 
ponding with three grand divisions of the fabric.* 

Upon a nearer inspection, I was not a little surprised to per- 
ceive the divisions of the edifice to be erected on the three 
grand orders of architecture. The northern wing, if that might 
be called a wing, which was of equal length, and greater depth 
than either of the other, was of the Tuscan order — the central 
one, of the Doric, and the southern of the Corinthian. But, 
methinks, never were these orders so advantageously contrast- 
ed, to jud ge of their comparative merits. The grave appear- 
ance of the Tuscan colums, their massy strength and steadi- 
ness, gave an air of safety to their towering height and superin- 
cumbent structure. Nor did they want the grace of proportion, 
nor the evidence of masterly execution. The solemn grandeur, 
awful magnificence, and eternal durability of the Gothic arch, 
executed in imperishable masses of granite, and with the able 
finish of the hand of genius, seemed careless of all comparison, 
while they reminded the spectator of that sublime declaration, 
“ the strength of the hills is his.”f 

The southern wing, projecting to an equal extent, but with 
not so great a breadth of foundation, was built of costly marble, 
was a noble specimen of the best age of the Italian school, and 
far excelled the grandest work of Palladio, reaching near the 
perfection of Phidias. J From the outward extremity of these 
wings, and connecting them together, was an arch of incompa- 
rable beauty, boldness, and grandeur, under which it was neces- 
sary to pass to enter the inner court, and to approach the vesti- 
bule of either of the three structures ; under which, also, might 
be seen the whole front of the central building. This edifice 
was of the Doric order, executed on the noblest plan, and dis- 
played much of the simplicity and chasteness of the truly an- 
cient school.^ 

* Congregational, Presbyterian, and Episcopalian. 

t Congregational. J Episcopalian. § Presbyterian. 

23 * 


270 


The arch, extending from wing to wing, and forming the en- 
trance to these majestic edifices, was indescribable ; it seemed 
to rise to heaven, and looked like the triumphal monument of 
some being more than mortal. As I drew nearer, I was seized 
with an emotion of reverence and awful delight which I cannot 
express : and you will judge how this was increased, when, 
looking up with closer inspection, on the majestic arch, I saw 
inscribed, in letters of the purest light, “ Liberty of con- 
science.”* I wept with emotions of joy and pleasure. 

Overpowered with various sensations, my limbs seemed no 
longer obedient to my volitions, and I stood in deep suspense, 
looking at times into these sacred recesses, which, I was per- 
fectly assured, could be nothing but the sanctuary of God ; but 
in doubt whether to proceed or retire. 

Whilst I remained thus passive and irresolute, two female 
forms, of superior address and surpassing brightness, approach- 
ed me. The one I knew, as all who ever see her must intui- 
tively know her, to be Truth. Though she appears in various 
degrees of splendour, yet her movement, form, and countenance, 
cannot be mistaken. She was dressed in robes that excel in purity 
the mountain snow ; and the radiant diadem that never falls from 
her head, is always easily distinguished. Her countenance was 
calmly severe ; the glance of her eye was penetrating, and her 
frown no mortal can endure. The other, who was quite a stran- 
ger, exhibited a form of grace and elegance which nothing can 
surpass ; her light blue eye, full of vivacity and gentleness, ex- 
hibited the smile, the generous frankness, the softness and sin- 
cerity of the opening morning, her golden tresses were gathered 
in a wreath of flowers, which might have been mistaken for 
the immortal amaranthus. 

“ Her mantle large, of greenish hue, 

My gazing wonder chiefly drew, 

Deep lights and shades bold mingling threw, 

A lustre grand, 

And seem’d to my astonished view, 

A well-known land.” 

* The constitution under which every man chooses his religion.—/. 


271 


“ My name,” said she, “ is Toleration ; I am the companion 
of Truth ; we reside in these mansions, and, if you are dispos- 
ed to view them, we will be your guide.” Restored to confi- 
dence, by the affability of personages so truly august, and so 
kind an offer, I thanked them, and accepted of their proposal. 
We passed under the majestic arch, and stood in what may be 
called the central aisle of the inner court. The edifice then 
presented on three sides and as it was raised on the bold eleva- 
tion of forty steps, the architraves and entablatures sustained 
by lofty columns, appeared of majestic height, and astonishing 
magnificence. 

The three edifices seemed equally to prompt curiosity, and 
invite the stranger — won by her rich and magnificent elegance — 
won by her bold and masterly simplicity — and won by her so- 
lemn dignity and awful grandeur. As we moved almost in- 
sensibly down the aisle, my guides seemed waiting to be deter- 
mined by my preference. Toleration said to me, with a smile, 
“ Sir, you can visit all these buildings, and we will enter, first, 
the one you may prefer.” But, by this time, we had begun to 
ascend the lofty vestibule of the central edifice ; and my guides 
concluding, that, by accident or inclination, I preferred enter- 
ing there, immediately proceeded to the door. 

As Truth turned to ring the bell, she informed me that we 
might possibly meet with some difficulty in gaining admittance ; 
for that three persons had lately obtained a residence there, by 
the courtesy of the original proprietors of these grounds and 
buildings, who had officiously volunteered their services in 
guarding the entrance against the intrusion of any improper 
persons. Upon asking their names, she replied, with a smile, 
that they had arrived there, and acquired some influence under 
the names of Orthodoxy, Zeal, and Vigilance ; but that their 
true names, in their native country, had been discovered to be 
Bigotry, Intolerance, and Persecution. Upon my expressing 
some surprise at this intelligence, Toleration observed, that 
“ they were generally well known, and thoroughly despised ; 
but having gained a residence and considerable influence, un- 
der very imposing and specious names, they had attached se- 
veral restless and turbulent spirits to their interest, and being 


272 


in a region of great peace and tranquillity, where nothing is so 
much regretted as measures of violence and hostility, many 
who knew them the best, and detested them the most heartily, 
nevertheless, preferred bearing with their impertinence, to 
using the means for their expulsion.” “ But, perhaps,” said 
Truth, “ you may not have a glimpse at them, for in some 
apartments in this building, they dare not even be seen, and in 
many others, they do not choose often to show their faces, but 
on very special occasions.’’ 

A moment after, the door was opened by a young damsel, 
whom, by her peculiar air, and exceeding simplicity and beau- 
ty in person, dress, and manners, I should have almost known 
to be Charity, had not Truth kindly pronounced her name. 
There was nothing of ornament on her head, but the beautiful 
ringlets of auburn hair which flowed carelessly down with 
inimitable grace ; and with a countenance beaming the smile of 
immortal youth, she bade us welcome, and desired us to enter. 

Turning from this very uncommon door-keeper,* who, at any 
other moment than this, could not but have commanded a more 
interested attention, a spacious hall of great magnificence was 
before me. Though it seemed but a common hall of entrance, 
to the interior of the building, it was fitted up with peculiar de- 
vices and appropriate insignia. 

This vast saloon was decorated with paintings and statues 
of most extraordin ary design, and unparalleled execution. It 
seemed difficult, at first sight, to determine whether I was sur- 
rounded with living b eings, or with visions of the mind. Though 
evidently paintings, they seemed to have been done with a bold- 
ness of colouring, and force of expression, which as much de- 
fied the pencil of Raphael to reach, as the pen of Shakspeare 
to describe. The grandeur of the apartment seemed shaded 
with th:e solemn gloom of twilight, while, nevertheless, the 
vivid colourings of the scene showed an inherent lustre, re- 
sembling, though far surpassing, a picture exquisitely illuminat- 
ed. In a word, the shading was deep and awful, but interspersed 
and enlivened with tints which evidently surpassed all mortal 

* Charity keeps very few doors, either public or private, either of churches 
or families.—/. 


273 


skill. It was no emblem, and I felt that I was contemplating a 
reality, whose full import I a moment after understood. 

On a spacious pannel of the wall, at my right, the hangings 
displayed a landscape which particularly engaged my attention. 
A small and solitary vessel lay moored in a bay of the ocean, 
on the shores of a vast and boundless wilderness. The world 
of waters seemed agitated and raging beneath a wintry sky, 
while the leafless forests discovered to the eye the snow-clad 
hills, the rivulets chained in ice, and the lakes, now congealed 
like marble, holding a solid mirror to the etherial vault, and 
the revolving lamps of heaven. The wide circuit of the waters, 
which seemed a real prospect of the ocean, was cheered by 
no sprightly sail ; no ship with swelling canvass was either com- 
ing in or going out ; no joyful shouts of sailors could be ima- 
gined hastening to embrace their friends, after the perils of the 
voyage were past; no stately vessel courting the favourable 
gale to waft her to a distant port. 

One solitary bark there was, in the waters which the keels of 
commerce had never ploughed, and where the gallant ship ne- 
ver floated. On the neighbouring shore, a few humble cottages 
denoted, by their form and texture, the vestiges, as did the 
ascending smoke the present residence, of civilized man. But 
how dreary was their prospect — how joyless their condition ! 
At no very discriminating distance were discernible the winter 
camps of the hostile savage ; the smoke of the wigwam was 
ascending from the neighbouring hills, and along the bays and 
inlets of the adjacent waters. Imagination might seem almost 
to hear the mingled howl of savage men and beasts prowling 
for their prey, and threatening to devour such of this defence- 
less people, as the severity of the climate, the fierceness of the 
elements, the rage of famine, or the angel of pestilenee, on 
this lonely shore, might spare. 

A wall, or rather a defence of palisades, encircled their dwell- 
ings, which seemed to promise little security. But without this, 
and at a very great distance, there was another enclosure of a 
more extraordinary nature, which, at first view, appeared like a 
luminous circle, but on nearer inspection, I perceived it was a 
wall of fire. The foundation glowed like solid bars of iron 


274 


rendered white in a furnace, and on the top sat a quivering 
flame which waved outward with fierce coruscations towards 
the wilderness. Whilst the divine promise rested upon my 
mind, “ I will be a wall of fire round about thee.” Truth, who 
stood by my side, said, with a smile, “ Behold the origin of 
your nation ! and the trials your forefathers endured for the 
love of truth, and the rights of conscience. You see the colony 
of Plymouth, on the first days of their landing. In the midst 
of their trials God was their defence.” 

She then pointed to a distant part of the landscape, and I 
clearly perceived the course of the Hudson, channeled through 
lofty mountains, but still winding his majestic way to the sea, 
through the pathless wilderness, save where the roving savage 
had, at times, marked out his devious peregrinations, in his fa- 
vourite pursuits of war and hunting. She made me, however, 
observe, remote in the dim and shadowy vista, the infant set- 
tlements of Albany and Bergen, the one at the mouth, and the 
other towards the sources of the river ; and again far south, on 
the shores of Virginia, the only remaning' vestige of civilization 
to be found on the northern section of America. 

I was struck with surprise, at beholding on the foreground of 
the piece, which wonderfully represented both map and picture, 
and indeed, wherever Truth directed her piercing eye, and 
pointed with her hand, grew into a scene of living existence, 
the same majestic arch, already described, as connecting the 
wings of the buildings, and inscribed with the same motto, “ Li- 
berty of Conscience.’’ 

Till now, I had not observed a perspective glass which Truth 
held in her hand, which she, at this moment, presented me, 
after having adjusted the barrel to the first circle marked there- 
on. “ This,” said she, “ will show you the effects which a 
century can produce on a wilderness, where God designs to 
build and plant a nation.” As I took the glass, I observed at the 
circle to which the sight was adjusted 1720. I raised it to my 
eye, and how changed was the scene ! The forest had melted 
away from the shores of the ocean, and the banks of the larger 
rivers smiled with cultivation. From Massachusetts to Virgi- 
nia, a broad line of flourishing villages, and noble plantations., 


275 


resembled a fringe of gold upon a broad mantle of green. And 
now the whole prospect was more illuminated, and the level rays 
of reflection seemed to indicate the sun just risen, “ the blue 
waves of ocean rolled in light, and the mountains were covered 
with day.” 

No longer was the frail and solitary bark seen before Ply- 
mouth. Numerous sails were visible from far, and seemed wafted 
by gales of prosperity ; and if Plymouth had become a noble 
village, denoting by her appearance, wealth, contentment, and 
security, at no great distance from her had arisen a rival sister, a 
far nobler capital, which promised one day to be the nursery of 
patriots and heroes, and the cradle of an independent nation. But 
if Plymouth was eclipsed by the importance of a rising capital 
near her, how much more was Bergen lost and forgotten, in 
another name, which was quickly to become the grandest empo- 
rium of North America. 

After glancing to various parts of this great landscape, I took 
the glass from my eye, and having drawn it to another circle, 
marked 1820, I was about to renew my observation, when Truth 
observed, that as I had no optics for contemplating futurity, I 
should see nothing there but darkness. And as to the present 
state of the country, continued she, you will derive more benefit 
from industry than perspective glasses. 

Passing this incomparable landscape, my attention was drawn 
from every other object to a portrait, which occupied the 
western, or upper part of the saloon. It was a full length pic- 
ture, and was evidently designed as the leading figure of the 
room. For though this gallery was a hundred yards in length, 
thirty in breadth, and twenty in height, it seemed equally con- 
spicuous, from every part, and to an eye, but little acquainted 
with the fine arts, it could not be mistaken for the Genius of 
America. But it surpassed all description. It was standing on 
elevated ground ; a flourishing olive seemed rising on his right 
hand, and a princely bay tree on his left, like a towering pyra- 
mid, rose far above his head, from which the shadow fell round 
him as from a meridian sun, though broken and dashed with 
intromissions of his golden beam. 

The Genius, in the form and proportions of an Apollo Belvi- 


276 


dere, far transcended the human stature in height and power, 
and though he could not appear otherwise than terribly majestic, 
he expressed the grandest lines of perfect benignity, and excited 
the highest sensations of the sublime. In his countenance was a 
placidness and security of expression indicated by the union of 
power and goodness ; fearless of danger and of war, yet prefer- 
ring peace, and tranquillity.* * * § A dazzling robe of scarlet descend- 
ed from his shoulders, partially concealing an underdress of 
white,! and it seemed not easy to determine whether the fashion 
of his dress was ancient or modern.^ On his left breast was a 
plate of burnished gold, surmounted’ with a Mosaic star of bril- 
liants of great lustre, around which was this inscription, “ civil 
and religious liberty.” Bearing this motto on his heart, and 
with the robe of justice floating round him, he wore a civic crown 
composed of the olive branch, entwined and bound with an argent 
fillet, on which was inscribed, “ Gladius corpus , sed veritas men - 
tem vulnerat Near him was a stately arbour, formed by the 
arching branches of the elm and myrtle, interlaced with vines, 
and through the osier trellis of a fine summer retreat were seen 
a Bible and the Constitution of the United States, engrossed on 
parchment, lying on a table. 

The Genius, who seemed recently to have been reposing 
there, was in the attitude of advancing forward, with his right 
hand laid on the hilt of a splendid sword which hung in his belt, 
and his eye sternly pursuing an object almost hid in impervious 
shades on his right ; but, on nearer ins pection, could be dis- 
covered. Huge and terrific, it appeared doubtful whether man 
or monster, and its dress and countenance were assimilated to 
the deepest shade, to which it seemed anxious at this time to 
escape. Yet, agreeable to the vulgar idea, that ghosts and gob- 
lins are always encompassed with supernatural appearances, 
this] monster, if a human figure can be sufficiently hideous to 
bear the name, was encircled with pale and livid light, and on 

* Such is the character of the American people. — I. 

f The habit usually worn by Justice in allegory. — J. 

j It is not easy to say whether the American genius will ultimately more 
resemble the Greeks, Romans, French, or English . — .1 

§ The sword wounds the body — truth the mind. — I. 


277 

his breast, in letters of sulphurous flame, was visible the word 
Intolerance. 

I rejoiced to see the hideous monster fly before the genius of 
my country, and thus, I trust, it will ever be, while the favour 
of heaven is extended to us as a people.* 

Having viewed various other curiosities in this spacious gal- 
lery, my guides proceeded to conduct me through the other 
parts of the building, which were very numerous, and by their 
forms and furniture showed the purposes to which they were 
appropriated. This building was four stories in height. The 
rooms on the first floor were rather small, and evidently adapted 
to the session of a church ; and this appeared still more evident 
from their number, which, as Truth informed me, was to the 
amount of several hundred. Over the door which led to an- 
other spacious gallery, into which all these apartments opened, 
was this inscription, “ Let the elders that rule well he counted 
worthy of double honour .” This gallery terminated at the re- 
mote end in a noble flight of stairs which landed us on the second 
story, and, indeed, ascended direct to the upper loft of the build- 
ing. Here the apartments were as much larger as the number 
was less, but planned in a similar form, and occupying the same 
extent of building ; and over the hall of entrance leading to these 
apartments, I perceived this inscription, “ Neglect not the gift 
that is in thee , which was given thee by prophecy , and the laying 
on the hands of the Presbytery .” 

In the third loft, there were five apartments, on a much 
larger scale, as they included the same section of the edifice, 
and were consequently of great extent. I here recognized the 
different synods of the Church. And the motto placed at the 
entrance of these apartments was, “ In multitude of counsellors 
there is safety .” Last of all, and on the fourth floor, was one 
grand apartment, the high and arching dome of which was sup- 

* Would to God that this picture were suspended in the vestibule of every 
church of Christ ; or, rather, of every church which bears that name. In- 
tolerance, is, indeed, a principle as weak and cowardly, as it is base and 
cruel ; its grand exploits are always made against the defenceless, and 
generally against the innocent and worthy.—/. 

24 


278 


ported on two rows of doric pillars, of excellent workmanship 
and proportions. In an alcove, or fine recess, at the upper end 
of this vast apartment, were several pieces of statuary, among 
which I discovered the well-known forms of Davies, Finley, 
Burr, Witherspoon, Rodgers, and M 4 Whorter. On the lofty 
and beautiful arch of this recess was this inscription, “ Built on 
the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself 
being the chief corner stone , in whom the building fitly framed 
together groweth into an holy temple in the Lord .' 1 In the centre 
of this group of figures, on a table made of American myrtle, lay 
the volume of the word of God. 

We returned from the upper floor of this building to the lower 
ones, by a different passage from that by which we ascended, 
and I observed, that from each of the lower apartments there 
was a separate ascent to the rooms of the second floor, as there 
was also, from every room on the second, to those on the third 
floor: as also, from the rooms on the second, there were di- 
rect ascents to the fourth, or grand room, which did not lie 
through the rooms on the third floor. These circumstances 
rendered this whole fabric a most curious piece of architecture ; 
displaying, however, no less of invention, than skill in the exe- 
cution.* 

In the survey we took of this extensive fabric, Toleration di- 
rected our course, opening every door, (for none were locked or 
barred,) and giving us free access wherever we were inclined to 
enter. Some of the rooms seemed at that time occupied by 
the persons who held regular jurisdiction there : they showed 
us every civility, invited us to prolong our stay, or to repeat our 
visits, as our inclination might lead. 

After we had spent some time in walking through various 
apartments, in all of which a uniform neatness and order pre- 
vailed, we were arrested by a singular adventure near the door 
of one of the rooms of the second floor. As we were ap- 
proaching the door, and about to enter this apartment, three 
men, coming out of the room, met us, and, placing themselves 

* The grand staircase first mentioned represents the course of an appeal ; 
the other communications are obvious . — L 


279 


in our way, with a very obtrusive air, desired to know who we 
were, and what was our business. I was not a little surprised 
at tones so peremptory, and language so dictatorial, so uncom- 
mon in this house. And observing these gentlemen, I thought 
their countenances familiar to my recollection, yet their names 
did not occur. 

After a moment’s pause, Truth replied to their demand, with 
great composure ; “ Gentlemen, this young man is a stranger 
here, though not unknown to us ; he is about engaging in the 
gospel ministry, and, we think, he would not be an improper per- 
son to send abroad as an evangelist and missionary, to carry 
the glad news of a Saviour to places destitute of that blessing. 
We have, therefore, shown him the different apartments of 
this building, and hope he will be acceptable to those whose 
business it is to commission men for that purpose, and also a 
blessing to the Church of Christ. But, gentlemen,” continued 
she, u as myself and this lady have dwelt here ever since this 
fabric was erected, and as we have not the honour of knowing 
you, we are under the necessity of asking the same favour of you 
which you did of us.” 

This address of Truth was received with a haughty air, and 
these men looked as though they would give the reply, given 
on a somewhat similar occasion, when the arch fiend had en- 
tered into the garden of innocence, and was there detected by 
Ithuriel and Zephon, two of the angelic guards of Paradise. 
When they demanded his name, he replied, 


“ Not to know me argues yourselves unknown.” 

These men were dressed in black, and so exactly resembled 
three clergymen whom I knew, that had not one of them de- 
clared their names to be Orthodoxy, Zeal, and Vigilance, I 
should have supposed I knew them. It brought to mind, how- 
ever, what I have often heard asserted, that men who in form and 
features resemble each other, are generally found to have a like- 
ness in mind and character. A remark, in favour of which, I 
think philosophy can furnish some reasons, however experience 
may decide. 


280 


Orthodoxy was a man of middling size, of dark complexion, 
rather inclining to Roman or aquiline and acute features, re- 
markably grave, quite precise in his language, affected in his 
manners, and looked jealous, hypochondriacal, very solemn, 
and sourly religious. The superciliary and frontal muscles seem- 
ed long obedient to the agencies of spleen, pride, and arrogance ; 
and his whole expression seemed to say, that he expected to be 
treated with great respect. 

Zeal was a small man, rather spare, of tolerable regular fea- 
tures, of the light and choleric temperament of complexion, looked 
sharp, uttered quick, voluble, sententious, and round periods, with 
a voice which, had the man not been seen, might have been sup- 
posed to have proceeded from a much larger body, putting me in 
mind of the fable of the wolf and nightingale ; and I observed that 
he had a remarkably little head. 

Vigilance was a tall, thin figure, without colour in his face, or 
other expression than the faint gleaming of an uneasy smile, 
which pain excites, rather than pleasure. He had the brown, un- 
animated aspect of cloudy November twilight ; and if a sheep 
could be turned into a wolf, he seemed to resemble the mon- 
grel that would be the result, provided that metamorphosis 
could be suddenly arrested when two thirds accomplished. With 
a long neck, and rather small features, it appeared as if, after the 
outline was struck, the contour had been contracted through 
scarcity of material in the internal fabric. In short, the eyes 
of this man, which were small, far separated, and of the colour 
of the dark oxyd of iron, void of all brightness, expressed the 
dull and wandering glare of morbid wakefulness, and seemed a 
window through which suspicion, treachery, and cruelty, alone 
held commerce with the world. 

These gentlemen, however, appeared with an assumption of 
great dignity, and with a scornful smile informed Truth that 
they had heard of this young man, meaning me, before, and well 
knew that he was “ unsound in the faith,” desired to be no fur- 
ther troubled with impertinent intrusions ; with which, turning 
suddenly upon us, they went into the room, and shut the door 
with such violence that the jarring noise reverberated through the 
neighbouring apartments to a great distance.* 

* This clash was heard from Philadelphia to New-York .— L 


281 


la our walks round this building, I discovered that there were 
two small buildings standing just behind it, resembling it in form, 
but smaller in size, and built of different materials. They 
might have been mistaken for wings to the doric ed ifice, as they 
joined up to it, and between them was an opening which might 
have formed a court yard, but that it was overgrown with briars 
and thorns, and presented no pasage but a narrow foot path, 
through which whoever passed would be liable to be scratched 
and torn, if not bitten by some noxious reptile that crawled be- 
low. These edifices appeared, however, very decent, and as my 
curiosity prompted me to view their internal arrangements, I 
proposed to my g uides to take a view of them. I saw the la- 
dies smile at each other, but did not know the meaning of it ; 
as it was their object to instruct me more by actual experience 
than by mere intelligence. They accordingly approached near 
the door of one of them, and I was not a little surprised to see 
the same three figures standing before it. 

As we happened to see them at a distance, I instantly halted, 
and begged of Toleration to spare me another interview with 
Orthodoxy, whom I did not very much admire. We accord- 
ingly turned about; and as I had seen these men planted at 
this door, I concluded that we should find the entrance to the 
other building free, or, at least, guarded by visages less grim 
and repulsive. We approached the door, and were about to 
open it ; when, looking up, we saw inscribed in large letters over 
it, “ None are admitted here but such as will sign the Covenant .” 

Truth, however, gave a loud rap, and immediately the door 
was opened ; but the reader may conjecture, if he can, my sur- 
prise when, behold, there again stood Orthodoxy, Zeal, and 
Vigilance, looking more stern and terrific than ever; and I seem- 
ed as though I could hear the ancient maxim, “ turn or burn,” 
distinctly pronounced. I was ready, with the poor Frenchman, 
to exclaim, “ Monsieur Tonson again !” I also recollecteded 
Milton’s famous passage, 


— “ Black he stood as night, 

Fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell, 

And shook a dreadful dart.” 

24 * 


282 


We turned from them without parley, and having now visited 
most parts of the house my curiosity wished to see, there only 
remained one apartment in the second story, which, for reasons 
I do not think proper here to mention, I desired to visit, before 
I left the house. We accordingly proceeded thither. But 
here, as usual, while as yet we had scarcely come within sight 
of the door, which led to this fair and beautiful chamber, for it 
appeared to have been fitted up with more than usual pomp and 
elegance, these hopeful figures crossed us, and forbid our en- 
trance. My surprise, on seeing them, yet at a distance, was 
redoubled, and I could not but remark to my guides, that this 
extraordinary triumvirate must either be supernatural beings, 
taking no time for change of place, as I was sure they could 
not be omnipresent, or else there must be a great number of an 
appearance too similar to admit of discrimination. 

“ They are not men,” said Truth, “ but phantoms, which 
Almighty Providence has given the semblance of men, and they 
personate the spirit and disposition of men of a certain descrip- 
tion. They appear to the eye of reason in every place, where 
a spirit of bigotry, intolerance , and persecution are found ; and 
they act, ostensibly, as men of that description would act did 
they feel no restraint from motives of interest and policy. No 
eye sees them in these buildings, nor is the number great who 
feel the disposition they represent. Yet they have their follow- 
ers, whose real characters are closely veiled, and who, under the 
cloak of orthodoxy, cherish bigotry ; who hide intolerance in 
the pretence of zeal for the truth, and indulge the bitterest spirit 
of persecution under a show of vigilance and activity to promote 
sound doctrine and discipline. But they are as destitute of sound 
policy as they are remote from the truth and the love of God . By 
disclosing too openly the malignity of their hearts, and baseness 
of their principles, they shall open the eyes of mankind upon 
their true characters, which shall be as much detested among 
men, as they are abhorred in the sight of God. This is your 
last interview with them, and from what you now see, you may 
judge of their final catastrophe.” 

As Truth and Toleration drew nearer, these semblances of 


283 


men seemed to grow more frightful in their appearance. Their 
features turned to the colour of ashes, grew indistinct, and lengthen- 
ed into a distortion beyond all human visage. Their limbs seemed 
dissolving, and their stature suddenly expanded ; they fell to *b 
er into a column of smoke, which rolled along the wall, an v* s 
soon dissipated by a current of air. 

Truth at this moment seemed to become more awfull *e- 
splendent in her features, and more majestic in her form. » 1- 

ing to me, she said, “ Go, young man, and be a faithf ^t- 

ness for truth in the church of Christ, and in the work mir- 

ror, bigotry, and prejudice with all their train, are bu' pty 
shadows : they have no power in themselves. If they at t’mes 
give you trouble, it is but to try your patience ; if the - ^sent 
impediments, it is but to prove your strength.” 

My curiosity was no less satisfied than gratified viewing 
this building ; and we accordingly descended into the cc ■: ^rd be- 
fore described. I was now intending to take a view the two 
adjourning fabrics, viz. of the Tuscan and Corinthi; uctures 
which lay on either hand. But Truth informed m r light be 

useful and pleasing for me to take a different view ol ;ese entire 
structures before we entered the others. She led me ordingly 
into the outward court, at some distance, where the e might 
be contemplated at one view. 

Here, turning towards this vast and threefold fab n ad- 

justed the barrel of her perspective, which she still held m her 
hand, to a future period, but with no visible mark to indicate 
date; she then gave it to me, desiring me to see what I couid 
discover. Having raised it to my eye, and brought the fabric 
under the field of observation, at first I perceived only an indis- 
tinct and tremulous light waving through the field, but a moment 
after the object became clear, settled, and definite. The distance, 
indeed, seemed greatly increased, but much more the effulgence 
and glory of the prospect. These buildings now appeared re- 
mote, and separated from me by a broad river, or an arm of 
the sea, where a tide or current rolled with rapidity and fierce- 
ness, over which low clouds hung, like a sable curtain, cover- 
ing most parts of its surface. But beyond, and far above this 


284 


gulf, they appeared situated on a rising plain of interminable 
extent and elevation. The fabric appeared now of one uniform 
material of inconceivable brightness and beauty, and, by the 
strength and brilliance of its reflected rays, looked like a tem- 
ple “ clothed with the sun.” Multitudes of cheerful people, ar- 
rayed in glorious attire, seemed passing in and out of these 
buildings ; and the firmament of heaven above them seemed as 
though it might resemble, in purity and serenity, that arch of 
the empyreal circle, which forms the glorious canopy of the 
celestial Paradise. 

My eye was pained with the steady contemplation of such 
brightness, and I was fain to remove the glass, but here the scene 
ended, and I awoke, and my first recollection was the following 
incomparable lines: — 


“ Rise, crown’d with light, imperial Salem, rise ! 
ExaJt thy towery head, and lift thine eyes ! 

See a long race thy spacious courts adorn ; 

See future sons and daughters yet unborn, 

In crov^ding ranks on ev’ry side arise, 

Demanding life, impatient for the skies ! 

See barb’rous nations at thy gates attend, 

Walk m thy light, and in thy temple bend : 

See thy bright altars throng’d with prostrate kings, 
Anri heap’d with products of Sabaean springs ! 

F or the Idume’s spicy forests blow, 

And seeds of gold in Ophir’s mountains glow : 

See heaven its sparkling portals -wide display, 

And break upon thee in a flood of day ! 

No more the rising sun shall gild the morn, 

Or evening Cynthia fill her silver horn ; 

But lost, dissolv’d in thy superior rays, 

One tide of glory, one unclouded blaze 
O’erflow thy courts— the light himself shall shine 
Reveal’d, and God’s eternal day be thine ! 

The seas shall waste, the skies in smoke decay, 
Rocks fall to dust, and mountains melt away ; 

But fix’d his word, his saving power remains ; 

Thy realm forever lasts, thy own Messiah reigns 1” 


s. c. s. 


285 


No. II. 

Frequent allusions have been made, in the preceding num- 
bers, to the religious tenets of the Reformers, and it is well 
known how the public is imposed upon by the specious pre- 
tences of several divines, who claim the exclusive merit of 
preaching the doctrines of the Reformation. I had measurably 
satisfied myself with the animadversions already made on that 
subject, but an ancient and very extraordinary work having fal- 
len into my hands, I deem it an imperious duty, and it will cer- 
tainly be a very great pleasure, to lay some documents before 
the public, which I presume few have seen, and many will read 
with interest. As to the authenticity of these documents, the 
reader will entertain no doubt, after perusing what follows. 
And I shall give them verbatim, in the style and orthography 
in which they were published. 

“ These Articles , hereafter written , were agreed upon at 
Marpurge , hy those whose names are heere vnder written , the 3 
of Octoh. Anno. 1529. 

“For the first , that we on both sides beleeue and hold, that 
there is one only true naturall God, creator of all creatures, and 
that the same God is one in essence and nature, and three fold 
in person ; viz. Father, Sonne, and Holy Ghost, after the same 
manner as was confirmed in the Council of Nice, and as is 
sung and read in the Nicen creed, in all the Christian churches 
in the world. 

tl For the second , we beleeue that not the Father, nor the Holy 
Ghost, but the Sonne of God the Father, naturall God, became 
man by the operation of the Holy Ghost, without the helpe of 
the seed of man, born of the pure Virgin Mary, bodily, corn- 
pleat body and soule as another man, sinne excepted. 

“ For the third , that the same God and Maries sonne, unsepa- 
rable person, Christ Jesus, was for us crucified, dead, and buried, 
arose from the dead, ascended into heaven, sitting on the right 


286 

hand of God, Lord over all creatures, to returne againe to iudge 
the quicke and the dead. 

“ For the fourth, we beleeue that original sinne descends untf 
vs from Adam, by birth and inheritance, and is such a sinne 
that it damneth all men : and if that Christ had not come to 
releive vs with his death and life, then had we perished thereby 
everlastingly, and could neuer have come to the kingdom of 
God. 

“For the fifth, we beleeue that we are deliuered from the said 
sinne and from all other sinnes, together with euerlasting death, 
if so bee we beleeue in the said sonne of God, Jesus Christ, 
who died for vs, and that through such a faith, not through 
works, degrees, or orders, we may be deliuered from any 
sinne. 

“ For the sixth , that such a faith is a gift of God, which we 
haue not purchased by any foregoing workes or deserts, neither 
can attaine thereunto by our owne powers ; but the Holy Ghost 
giues and prouides it, as it hath pleased him, into our harts 
when we attend unto the gospel of Christ. 

“ For the seventh , that such a faith is our righteousnesse before 
God, for which the Lord esteems us just, righteous, and holy, 
without all works and deserts, and thereby delivers from sinne, 
death, and hell, takes to grace and saveth for his sonnes sake, 
in whom we so beleeue, and thereby are made partakers of his 
sonnes righteousnesse and life, and of the benefit of all his treas- 
ures ; therefore al cloister liuing, and Abbey lubber life, as 
unprofitable to salvation, are utterly condemned.” 

The subsequent articles relate to the visible ordinances of 
the gospel, viz., of preaching, of baptism, of confession, of 
magistracy, of the Lord’s Supper, &c., which have no peculiar 
interest in this place. In reference to the holy supper they 
say : 

“ And though it be so that at this time we cannot agree 
whether the true body and blood of Christ, bee bodily in the 
bread and wine, yet ought the one part to perfoime Christian 
loue to the other, so far as euery man’s conscience will beare, 
and both sides entreate the Almighty God, with al feruency, 


287 


that he would settle vs in the 
Ghost. Amen. 

Signed, 

MARTINUS LUTHER, 

PHILIP MELANCTHON, 
JUSTUS JONAS, 

ANDREAS OSIANDER, 
JOHANNES BRENTIUS, 


right ynderstanding by the Holy 

STEPHANUS AGRICOLA, 
JOHANNES OECOLAMPAD1US, 
VLRICUS ZWINGLIUS, 
MARTINUS BUCER, 

CASPER HEPIO.” 


The above declaration of doctrine was the result of a famous 
conference held between Luther and Melancthon on the one part, 
and Zwinglius and Bucer on the other, together with their princi- 
pal adherents, to come, if possible, to an agreement on the great 
points of religion, and particularly, concerning the sacrament of 
the supper, in which Luther could not get fully clear of the Ro- 
mish doctrine of the real presence in the bread. 

These were the distinguished leaders in the Reformation in 
Germany and Switzerland, and among the best and ablest of their 
divines. If the reader will turn to the statement I have given of 
the doctrine of original sin, in the first series, he will, at first 
sight, perceive it not to differ from the views of these great Re* 
formers. The ground there taken is, that “ original sin descends 
from Adam to us by birth and inheritance,” and is a part of the 
grand constitution of nature, that every thing, propagated in a 
series of generations, shall produce its own likeness. 

Though the view of the leading doctrines, in the above state- 
ment, is exceedingly concise, yet no part of tlje Triangle is there 
discoverable. As to the atonement, it is well known, to all the 
world, that the German Reformers, almost to a man, held to the 
doctrine of universal propitiation. It was certainly so with Luther 
and Melancthon, Zwinglius and Bucer, and all the ten, whose 
names are signed above. But I shall detain the reader with few 
remarks here, since the above is but a quotation from a much 
more full and complete confession of faith, of the Psaltzgraue 
church, in the founding and forming of which, Zwinglius was the 
principal leader. To that I shall immediately proceed. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


288 


No. III. 

The work is entitled , 

“ A full declaration of the faith and ceremonies pro* 
fessed in the dominions of the most illustrious and noble 
Prince Frederick V., Prince Elector Palatine. Published 
for the benefit and satisfaction of all God’s people : ac- 
cording to the origin all, printed in the High Duch Tongue. 
Translated into English by John Rolte, and published 
in London, A. D. 1614.” 

The English translation is dedicated to the Right Honourable 
Sir Edward Coke, Lord Chief Justice of England. 

“ A full declaration of the faith and ceremonies of the Psaltz- 
graues churches. 

“CHAP. I. 

“ That we have not such a detestable faith as is measured to 
vs abrode by peace-hating people. 

“ Now to begin : we protest before God, and whole Christen- 
dome, that we have not, in any sort, such a detestable faith, as 
peace-hating people ascribe vnto vs, whereas they say : 

That we deny God’s omnipotency. 

That we make God the author of sinne. 

That we make God to be a tyrant. 

That we deny the Godhead of Christ. 

That we deny the personal union of both natures in Christ. 

That we say, that the divine and human nature in Christ have 
no actuall and working fellowship with each other. 

That we deny originall sin. 


289 


That we deny the power of the death of Christ. 

That we deny the necessity of beleeving in Christ, &c. &c. 

“ Such, and many more the like blasphemies against God, do 
they accuse vs of, that we both beleeve and teach.” 

The reader will do well to recollect, and keep in mind, that 
several of the heaviest of these charges are constantly urged 
against the Hopkinsians, and perhaps he will also find, in these 
pious and venerable Reformers, an apologist for the Hopkinsian 
doctrines, which our Triangular men, who have so loudly and 
so long claimed all the Reformers as their own, will not relish. 
If all the divines in the dominions of the illustrious Frederick 
Elector Palatine should turn out to be Hopkinsians, probably 

the Rev. and most distinguished Mr. M s will pronounce 

them “ unsound in the faith.” This denunciation, however, 
would not disturb their peaceful slumbers in the grave. 

The divines of the Psaltzgrave church having noticed the 
errors and heresies of which they were accused, proceed in this 
chapter with some general observations, in which they show 
that, in these points, they agreed fundamentally with the great 
Reformers, as well as the ancient churches. In the course of 
which they take occasion also to enumerate the errors of which 
Luther himself was accused, as in the following paragraph : 

“ Or do not the defamers know that the wretched fellow, 
Doctor Pistorious, now, at this present, concludes against 
blessed Doctor Luther? He writes, (i. e. Pistorius,) Doctor 
Luther was, 

A Tritheist, who said there was three Gods; 

A Sabellian, who said there was but one person of the Godhead ; 

An Arian, who denied the euerlasting Godhead of Christ ; 

An Eutichian, who mingled the two natures of Christ in one ; 

A Nestorian, who separated the two natures in Christ ; 

A Valentinian, who was so mad headed as to say the human 
nature of Christ descended from heaven; 

A Marcionite, who blasphemed that Christ was not crucified 
in very deed, but only in show. 

“ Such, and many more the like detestable heresies that 
wretched fellow Pistorious construeth upon blessed Doctor Lu- 
ther. And, to prove the same against him, cites his own words, 
which make a great show to that end.” 

25 


290 


I beg the reader to remember, that a similar attempt was 
made in this city in which a fellow, probably quite as wretched 
as Doctor Pistorius, garbled the writings of Calvin and Hopkins, 
and published a book called the “ Contrast.” 

The writers of this declaration, after shewing that, in those 
points in which they were accused of heresy, they did not dif- 
fer from Luther, nor from the primitive church, proceed to the 
second chapter, in which their confession of faith begins. To 
this I now proceed. 


“ CHAP. II. 

“ What our faith is in very truth . 

“ Now if any man shall further demand, what then is our 
faith indeed, the which we willingly acknowledge, then is this 
our answere, as followeth. 

“ Wee beleeue there is one only true God, the Father of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, with the Sonne and Holy Ghost ; and that 
accordingly, there are three distinct persons in that one Godly 
Essence, the Father the Sonne and the Holy Ghost. 

“Wee beleeue further, that the same one God is everlasting 
and almighty, and can do whatsoever he will. Also, that hee 
is infinite, and accordingly is present in all places at one time, 
and seeth, heareth and knoweth all things. Also that he is just, 
and punisheth no man without desert. Also that he is merci- 
ful, and hath no delight in the death of sinners, but that they 
would repent themselves and live. 

“ Wee beleeue further, that the same one true God created 
heaven and earth, and all that therein is, of nothing. 

“ Wee beleeue further, that God sustaineth and ruleth all 
things which he created ; and that hee hath them so in his 
hand, that no creature can stirre or move itselfe without will ; 
and therefore nothing can come to passe without his permis- 
sion, whether it be good or evill. Also, all that God doth at 
present, or permitteth to come to passe, hee foreknew from 
everlasting, and with well be thought councell had determined, 
that he would even^ so doe it, or permit it Also, that he did 


291 


not determine to permit any thing to come to pass, but that 
which he could and would turn to a good end. 

“ We beleeue further, that in the beginning God created all 
the angels and men holy and good, and especially man in his 
likenesse, and to blessed immortality. But they, to wit, the 
angels and the two first of mankinde, did shortly after their cre- 
ation, fall from God their creator ; and have by such their fall, 
brought not only upon themselves the wrath of God, but also 
such a pollution of their natures, that now they ean no more 
either will or accomplish any thing that is good, which pollution 
fell on the lost angels at one time. But mankind inherits such 
defilement, together with the guiltiness both of the first and se- 
cond death, by propagation , one from another . From whence 
it is, that the same corruption of mankinde is called original 
sinne.” 

Before I proceed, I must entreat the reader to notice the 
statement here given of the doctrine of original sin ; at least, 
If his object be to discover the opinion of the Reformers con- 
cerning that doctrine, and if he be desirous to know how that 
doctrine stood, among what may be called the doctrines of the 
Reformation. And I here assure him, as I have already, again 
and again, that the notion of the imputation of the guilt of 
Adam’s sin, as our Triangulars hold it, at this day, was un- 
known to the Reformers, or, if not unknown, was rejected by 
them as repugnant to all the dictates of reason, justice, and the 
word of God. And the talk they make about the federal head- 
ship of Adam, as they call it, plunges them but deeper in ab- 
surdity. To make a creature guilty of the sin of another, in- 
dependent of any moral desert of his own, is a case perfectly 
similar to charging an innocent person with guilt ; while, at the 
same time, it is perfectly dissimilar to the case of the imputa- 
tion of righteousness where it is not due. The goodness of God 
may certainly go beyond a sinner’s merit, but divine justice 
cannot go beyond his desert, or charge him with crimes of 
which he is not guilty ; nor can any possible constitution , head- 
ship or federal relation , help out the difficulty. These terms 
may indeed help out a man’s prejudices, and cast a mist before 
his eyes, but they cannot aid his rational conviction. 


292 


But, reader, whether the crude and rank, the horrible and ab- 
surd notion or imputation be true or not, is not the present 
question — but whether that notion was taught by the Reformers ; 
and I say it was not. They held that Adam’s corrupt and de- 
praved nature descended to his posterity, and ruined his whole 
race. They held, as in the declaration before us, that u Man- 
kinde inherits such defilement hy propagation one from another .” 
And hence, they were accused, precisely as the Hopkinsians 
are, and for the same reasons, of denying the doctrine of origi- 
nal sin. But I proceed. 

“ Wee beleeue further, though such a feareful fall, both of 
angels and men, could not haue come to passe without Gods 
permission, and that he appoints nothing without good conse- 
deration, yet is not the fault of this fall in any manner to be as- 
cribed to him ; considering that hee so created the angels and 
men, that they had free will to turn to good as well as to bad. 

Wee beleeue further, that it becomes not poor creatures to 
dispute with God, wherefore he created the angels and men so 
that they could fall. Also, wherefore he hindered not such 
a fall, whereas hee could not well haue done it. He is the 
Lord, and his wil is euer iust and good, though wee alwaies vn- 
derstand it not. The Apostle Paul saith, that God hath shut vp 
all under vnbeleefe , or under sinne , that hee might haue mercy on 
all , that is, that no man may bee saued but meerely by the 
mercy of God. By this ought wee, in all reason, to let it so re- 
maine. 

“ Wee beleeue further, that the fallen angels and men could 
not free themselues from the almighty gouernance of, but that 
they, on the one side, as well as on the other, are in the hand 
of God, and their wickednesse cannot break out, than as God 
hath permitted it. And this our faith is our greatest comfort on 
earth. For and if the wicked angels and men had the bridle in 
their own powers, where should we bee able to abide for them ? 

“ Wee beleeue further, that though God permit many sinnes, 
in the fallen angels, and men, and that hee vseth often times 
their sinful actions to accomplish his holy workes (as he did 
the abominable deeds of Absalom, to the punishment of David, 
and the treason of Judas to the freedome of mankinde) also 


293 


though he often punish sinne by sinne, and blind and harden 
those commonly at last, who with seeing eies will yet be blinde 
(as formerly he did Pharaoh,) yet neuer the lesse, hee himselfe 
hath no pleasure in sinne, much lesse doth hee prouoke or driue 
any man thereto : but that the precedent , working cause of all 
sinne, which goeth before is onely and alone, the free and vn- 
forced will of wicked angels and men. 

“ Wee beleeue further, that God hath adjudged the fallen an- 
gels to euerlasting fire, without any grace or mercy, to terrify us 
thereby ; that we make not a iest of the anger of God against 
sinne. 

“Wee beleeue further, that God hath indeed iust cause and 
power also, to push downe the fallen men into euerlasting hel- 
lish fire, without any grace or mercy. But hee hath not done it, 
but hath offered grace again to man. And that so he might shew 
the mercy without breach of his iustice, hee ordained his onely 
begotten Sonne to bee our surety and Mediator, and to take the 
punishment upon him, which wee deserued, and so deliuer vs 
from euerlasting well deserued death, by his innocent death. 

“ To accomplish the said counsell and wil of God, the hea- 
venly Father the Sonne of God our Lord, and Redeemer Jesus 
Christ, became man in the last times of the world, concerned 
by the Holy Ghost, borne of the virgin, and like vnto vs in all 
things, sinne excepted. And when he had liued as a man thirty 
yeeres, hee began to preach and to teach the merciful pleasure 
of his heavenly Father towards vs poore sinful men ; and in the 
fourth yeere after that, he was captiued, crucified, put to death 
and buried, descended into hell, and rose againe from the dead 
the third day, and ascended into heaven, forty days after, and 
set himself at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from 
whence hee shall return to iudge the quicke and the dead. 

“ And, therefore, we beleeue of Christ, that he is not a bare 
man, but that he is the euerlasting Almighty Sonne of God, 
who, at the appointed time, tooke the nature of man upon him, 
and is now together God and man, and so shall remaine euer- 
lastingly in one vnseperable person. 

“ And, being thus at present, both God and man, in one vn- 
seperable person, therefore do wee beleeue further, that all may 
25 * 


294 


be said of him, that may be said of God — all that may be said 
of man ; yet with this caution, that euery thing must be vnder- 
stood of him to be true, the diuine thing, according to the di- 
uine nature, and the humane, according to the humane na- 
ture, &c. 

“ According to which then we doe beleeue, that indeed and 
truth the Sonne of God died for vs, but yet, not according to 
the Godhead, but onely according to the manhood, for the 
Godhead cannot die. 

“ Of the power of the death of Christ beleeue wee, that the 
death of Christ, (whilst he being not a bare man, but the sonne 
of God died,) is a full all-sufficient payment, not onely for our 
sinnes , but also for the sinnes of the whole world. And that hee by 
his death hath purchased, not only forgiuennesse of sinnes, but 
also the new birth by the Holy Ghost, and, lastly, everlasting 
life. 

“But wee beleeue therewithall, that no man shall be made 
partaker of such a benefit, but onely hee that belieueth on him. 
For the scripture is plaine where it saith, he that belieueth not 
shall be damned. 

“ We beleeue further, that the true sauing faith cannot bee 
without repentance and good works. For such a faith layeth 
hold on Christ wholly, who was made of God, not onely righte- 
ousness vnto vs, but also sanctification. 

“ Wee beleeue, further, that true blisse-making faith can- 
not be without good works, yet, neuerthelesse, the man before 
God’s iustice seate, (that is, when hee is thoroughly touched 
with his sinnes,) neither can, or should beare himself vpon his 
good workes, it so being that they are euer vnperfect. But 
that a man shall appeale onely and alone vnto the grace of 
God, before his iudgment seate, which grace hee hath prepar- 
ed for vs in Christ, and take hold on the same grace with a 
belieuing heart, and so shall God forgiue him his sinnes, 
and esteeme him iust for the full satisfaction of Jesus Christ. 
And that is our meaning when we say that man is iustified be- 
fore God, onely by faith, without helpe of good works : name- 
ly, not that good works should be abandoned, but onely that 
a man should not put any confidence therein. 


295 


“ Wee beleeue, further, that God hath ordained the preach- 
ing of his gospel to this end, that he would worke in us faith in 
Christ thereby, and that the same preaching of God the Lord 
is no iest, but that it is his earnest will and intent, that all peo- 
ple that hear such preaching should beleeue the same, and 
should return to Christ.” 

And here I must beg the reader to notice, that if the atone- 
ment of Christ, and his propitiation for sin, regards only the 
elect, then surely the preaching of the gospel to the non-elect 
is, indeed, no jest, because it is a thousand times worse. It is 
the greatest possible imposition, in the most serious of all con- 
cerns, to offer salvation to a sinner for whom there is no salva- 
tion ; to invite him to come to Christ, who never died for him ; 
to condemn him for unbelief, when, should he believe, he would 
believe a falsehood. Thus it was viewed by the Reformers. 

“ Wee beleeue, further,, that mankind is so corrupted by the 
fall of our nrst parents, that they cannot vnderstand, or enter- 
taine, the preaching of Christ, vnlesse God open their under- 
standings by his holy spirit, and tvrn their hearts to Christ. 

“ And that, therefore, the gospel is a spiritual worke of God, 
which God bestoweth not upon all men, but also that the under- 
standing and the receiving of the gospel (or to speake with one 
word) faith, is an especial worke of God.” 

With great pleasure could I go through the copying this no- 
ble and beautiful declaration of the faith of these able and excel- 
lent reformers. But as the remaining points of it relate to the 
ordinances of the gospel, and do not involve the doctrines 
which are specially called in question in these Numbers, I 
thought it needless to give the whole, but shall close with their 
last article. 

“ And we beleeue lastly, that, for the most part, God hold- 
eth his church under the crosse, and will first make it fully per- 
fect, and glorious hereafter in the world to come ; according to 
the patterne of his sonne, who entered into glory by affliction and 
suffering.” 

Reader, you hear, in the above confession of faith, the voice, 
not of an individual, but of a body of the ablest and best divines 

the German Reformation produced, at the head of which was 
\ 


296 


the celebrated Zwinglius. — I have only to request you to notice 
their views of original sin, of the atonement, of faith, and of 
justification. This I do, because they differ on those points, 
in no material idea from the doctrine called Hopkinsian ; and 
you will perceive how little that doctrine is deserving of the 
epithet of New Divinity. But I proceed to the third chapter. 

CHAP. III. 

T “ That wee haue not founded and learnt such our faith from 
hlinde reason , much less from the revelation of Satan , ( as some 
calumniate us,) nor from the weak writings of men , hut solely 
and alone out of the infallible word of God , through the gratious 
enlightening of his holy spirit. 

“Wee reade indeede, also, the writings of men, especially 
those whom God hath stirred up in these last daies, against the 
idolatrous Popedome, such as were Luther, Melancthon, 
Zwinglius, Oecolampadius, Bucer, Brentius, Calvin, Beza, &c. 
And confesse, to the glory of God, that we have received in- 
formation from them, and do daily receive, the better how to 
vnderstand aright the holy scriptures, and to use them to our 
profit. 

“ But we do not found ourselves in matters of faith upon the 
same, or any man’s else, but we found ourselves in matters of 
faith onely and alone upon the word of God, and believe men 
no further than they can shew what they say out of the word 
of God. And that therefore, for that we know that all men 
may fade, though they may be as highly enlightened and as 
holy as may possibly be, and that God is onely hee that cannot 
erre. And therefore we put no confidence in man when he 
speaketh of himselfe.” 

In the 4th, 5th, and 6th chapters, they speak of their differ- 
ence with Luther relative to the doctrine of the real presence, 
in the bread of the sacrament, in which various arguments and 
illustrations are used. In the 5th chapter, however, they give 
the opinions of the fathers, which I shall quote for the entertain- 
ment of the Reader. — They proceed : 

“ Tertullian, who lived about the yeere of Christ 200, saith. 


297 


The Lord took bread and divided it amongst his disciples, and 
made the same his body, in that he said, This is my body, that 
is, a representation of my body. 

“ Cyprian, who lived about the veere of Christ 240, saith, 
That the bread and the wine are the body and the blood of Christ, 
as, the betokening and the betokened thing, used to be termed 
with one name. 

“ Gregory Nazianzen, who lived about the yeere of Christ 360, 
nameth the bread a sign answerable to the body of Christ. 

“ Chrisostome, who lived about the yeere after the birth of 
Christ, 370, saith, The Lord hath commanded a representation of 
his body in the supper. 

“ Theodoret, who lived about the yeere after the birth of Christ 
440, saith, our Saviour himself hath changed the name of the 
tokens of his body, and of his body to the tokens, &c. and in 
sundry places he nameth the bread and wine, in the supper, a 
representation, and opponent signe of the body and blood of 
Christ. 

“ Augustine, who lived about the yeere after the birth of Christ 
390, saith, The Lord hath commanded a representation of his 
body, in the supper. 

“ Beda, who lived about the yeere after the birth of Christ 730, 
saith, Christ hath instituted instead of the flesh and blood of the 
Lambe, the sacrament of his flesh and blood, in the representa- 
tion of bread and wine. 

“ Bertram, who lived about the yeere after the birth of Christ 
800, when some began to beleeve the bodily presence of Christ 
in the supper, and being demanded thereabouts by Charles the 
Great, freely declared that the bread is figuratively and not really 
the body of Christ.” 

The Reader will, I trust, duly appreciate the importance of 
the third chapter of this work, wherein those real Reformers, who 
showed themselves worthy of that exalted title, disclaim all 
reliance on the opinions of men, and all that blind and stupid 
veneration for names, which has wrought infinite mischief in the 
church of Christ, and to which incessant reference has lately been 
made, with a view to mislead the minds of the ignorant and the 
credulous. 


298 


A poisonous stream of antinomianism has been poured into the 
church, audaciously pretended to be the doctrine of the Reforma- 
tion. It is time the public were undeceived. 


INVESTIGATOR. 



No. III. 

The Hopkinsians are accused of the monstrous, blasphemous 
error, that God is the author of sin. This point has already been 
considered, but as the 7th chapter of the Declaration of the Faith 
and Ceremonies of the Psaltzgrave Churches, advances the same 
course of reasoning on that subject that has been advanced by 
many writers of New-England, I trust it will not be displeasing 
to the reader to know what has been the opinion of Christian 
churches, in other ages and nations, concerning that matter. He 
will at least perceive that these reasonings and opinions did not 
originate in New-England, and if the Hopkinsians are, after all, 
incorrect, they still do not deviate from “ the doctrines of 
the reformation,” or the sentiments of the Reformers. And 
in this chapter they will hear the voice of that prince of Reform- 
mers, the immortal Luther, as well as others who were ornaments 
of their age. 


CHAP. VII. 

“ That wee doe not beleeue and teach otherwise of the foreknow- 
ledge and almighty providence of God , ouer all creatures , and of 
the fountaine from whence sinne springeth , than as Doctor Luther y 
of happie memory, hath beleeued and taught thereof 

“ The second point, which was brought into controuersie af- 
ter the death of Luther, is of the foreknowledge, that is, of the 
almighty gouernment of God over all creatures, good and bad. 
Of the same wee haue heretofore diuers times so declared our 
mindes, that the contentious are forced to eonfesse themselues, 
that there is nothing rebukeable in the same. Onely say they, 


299 


that wee haue aforetime spoken and written of that matter, 
otherwise than now wee doe speake and write thereof. 

“ Admit now, that it were so indeede, ought wee therefore to 
be railed upon, for that wee make amendement? But for all 
that they giue wrong information there. For (God be blessed 
and praised) the doctrine of the foreknowledge, or almighty 
gouernment of God ouer all creatures, hath been alwaies so 
true in our churches, and so cleare, that wee neuer haue had 
any neede to amend the same. The reader may looke ouer 
all the catechismas and confessions of our churches, which hee 
can euer come by ; and hee shall finde no other doctrine there- 
in of the foreknowledge of God, than the same which wee doe at 
present maintaine, in our sermons and writings. 

“ But what they accuse vs to haue formerly taught, so offen- 
sively of the foreknowledge of God, and now to bee silent in, 
in summe is thus much, That God hath not only seene from euer - 
lasting, all that cometh to passe , whether it hee good or had, that 
it would come to passe, hut also decreed that it should come 
to passe, for cause of a good ende to which he would use 
the same. Or, which is all one, that nothing is accomplished 
without the euerlasting councell and will of God, whether it he 
good or had, and that the same euerlasting councell and will of 
God is vnchangeahle. And that according to the same al must so 
come to passe, as it cometh to passe . Also, that the permission 
of God when he permittelh that which is euill, is not a hare per- 
mission, hut that God hath alwaies his hande in the work , and 
hee turneth and ordereth euery action , to what hee hath ordained it, 
in his euerlasting councell. 

“ Out of all which they say, this must necessarily follow, that 
God is the author of sinne, and hath a pleasure and delight in 
sinne. This the complaint which they make against vs. 

“ Now it is without no, that such sayings are found in mens 
writings as are aboue rehearsed. But, neuertheless, the same 
are also found in the writings of Doctor Luther. As, saith he, 
“ there comes nothing to passe without the will of God.” Tom. 
6. Wit. fol. 520. A. Also, a all comes to passe onely accor- 
ding to the euerlasting will of God, and it must so befall vnto vs, 
as he will.” Fol. 590. B. Also, “ all, in all creatures must be 
accomplished, after the diuine will.” Fol. 527. A. Also, “ let 


300 


the Diatribe plot, thinke, imagine, sing, say what they will, yet 
hath God decreed from euerlasting, that Judas must bee a trai- 
tor, then must be committed treason, and it is not in Judas, or 
in the power of any creature, to have it any otherwise, or to 
change his will.” Fol. 524. A. “ Also, out of which it fol- 
lower that it cannot be denied, that all which wee doe, and all 
that befalleth, whether we thinke it well or no, as befalling by 
chance, and is changeable, yet it must so come to passe, and 
cannot be otherwise, if thou lookest to the will of God. For 
God’s will is powerful, and will not be hindered. For hee is 
nothing else than the Godly force and power itselfe. And also 
God is the most wise, so that no man can decieue him. When 
now his will will not suffer itselfe to be hindered, that it should 
not be accomplished in time, place, manner, measure, as God 
hath decreed and will have it.” Fol. 470. A. Also, “ This do 
we also say, that when God worketh all, in all things, he also 
worketh in the ungodly, it so being that he created all things 
alone, and ruleth alone, and moueth and driueth them accord- 
ing to his almighty powerful working, which no creature can 
shunne or change, but it must follow, euery thing according to 
his own kinde, given it of God.” Fol. 548. Also, “ All peo- 
ple upon the earth find these two principles printed and written 
in their hearts, that they must acknowledge in their hearts, and 
say yea therevnto, when they heare them mentioned. For the 
first, That God is almighty not onely in respect of force, but 
also in respect to powerful operation. For the second , that he 
knoweth all things, and hath decreed from euerlasting, and can 
neither erre nor faile. When yea is said in the hearts of all 
meh with respect to these two principles, then it followe by 
and by, most powerfully, and certainly, that man can gainsay 
that we were not, neither are made by our own willes ; but it 
must so come to passe according to the will of God. And it 
also followes, that we do nothing that we will, according to free 
will, but what , when and how God hath decreed it from euerlast- 
ing, and worketh according to his councell and euerlasting power, 
which can neither faile nor change.” P. 528. 

So far, reader, you hear the reasoning of Luther, on this point. 

“ Such and many more the like sayings are written here and 


301 


there in the writings of Doctor Luther, which doe affirme as 
much as we doe, That all must so come to passe , as God hath 
decreed , ordained , and determined from euerlasting , and that his 
almighty working concurreth in all things. Therefore, either 
we doe not make God, by this our speech, the author of sinne ; 
or Doctor Luther must have also made him to bee the author 
of sinne. 

“ It may bee both are true, might some man say, that name- 
ly, Doctor Luther, as well as you, did erre in this point. An- 
swer : They may faile that will, yet cannot God fade, who 
hath spoken so euen in his holy word, of this matter, as both 
wee and Doctor Luther speake thereof, that, namely, there 
commeth nothing to passe without the councell and will of God 
whether it be good or bad.” 

Having proceeded thus far, in the language of Luther, they 
then proceed to give their own illustrations on the point in 
question. As follows : 

“ For example, was not that a wicked act, that Judas betrayed 
Christ 1 — yet for all that Christ saith, that it was so determined 
by God. Behold, saith he, the hand of him that hetrayeth me, 
is with me at the table, and truly the son of man goeth as it is 
appointed. Luk. 22. 21. ; and to the like effect, as it is written 
of him . Math. 26. 24. (Note. As it is appointed, and as it is 
written of him, is taken in the holy scriptures, for all one. By 
which it is manifest, that all that stands written in the scriptures, 
that should come to passe, in time to come, was so appointed 
by God, that it should come to passe, and that these sayings, 
the scripture must be fulfilled, and the councell of God must stand , 
are all one.) 

“ And Peter saith, whilst it was so appointed or so written, 
it must, therefore, he accomplished, The scripture must have 
been fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of David, 
spoke before of Judas. Yea, not onely the treason of Judas, 
but also of Tall the wicked deeds and murtherous acts, which 
Herod and Pilate, with the heathen and people of Israel com- 
mitted against the sonne of God, saith the scripture, they did 
whatsoever the hand and councell of God determined, before, to 
be done. Acts 4. 28. Yea, the scripture ascribeth this whole 
26 


302 


worke throughout to God the Lord himselfe, and saith, The 
Lord would hreake him , and make him subject to infirmities . 
So was the work principally the work of God, but Judas, Herod, 
and Pilate, with the heathen and people of Israel, were but in- 
struments and tooles which God used to accomplish such a 
worke. 

“ Another example. Whereas the brethren of Joseph sold 
their innocent brother Joseph to perpetuall slavery into Egypt, 
was not that a great sinne? Yet Joseph saith, You sent me not 
hither , but God. Gen. 45. 8. Did God then doe it ? Then 
did he determine before, and conclude -that hee would doe it, 
for hee effects nothing inconsiderately, but he worketh all things 
after the councell of his owne will. 

“ Another example. Whereas Sampson tooke a heathen 
woman to his wife, against the expresse word of God, and 
against the faithful disswasion of his parents ; was not that a 
great sinne ? And yet the scripture saith, it came of the Lord. 
Judg. 14. 4. 

“ Another example. That Shimei cursed the Lords anointed, 
was not that a great sinne ? And yet for all that Dauid saith, 
The Lord hath bidden him. 

“ Another example. Whereas Satan prouoked Dauid to num- 
ber the people, and Dauid did it ; that was a great sin, as well 
of Satan as of Dauid. Neuertheless the scripture saith, not 
barely and alone, that God did permit it, but it saith also, that 
God did it himselfe, as appeareth by the plaine text. And the 
wrath of the Lord was againe kindled against Israel , and he 
moued David against \ them , in that he said, go number Israel 
and Judah. 2 Sam. 24. 1. 

“ Another example. Was not that a fearfull great sinner ? that 
the unnaturall sonne, Absalon, hoisted his aged and decaying 
father from his kingly state, lying with his fathers ten concubines 
in the sight of all Israel ? Yet, saith God to Dauid, not onely 
I will permit it, but I will doe it. I will take thy wives be- 
fore thine eyes,, and give them vnto they neighbour, and he shall 
lie with thy wives in the sight of this sonne : for thou diddest 
it secretly, but J will doe this thing before all Israel. 2. Sam. 
xii. 11. 


303 


“ These, and the like examples, whereof there are great store 
in the Bible, doe manifestly witnesse that the permission of 
God, when hee permitteth that which is evill, is not a bare and 
naked permission, but that he, also, hath a hand in the worke 
and he gouernes and turns it after his owne pleasure. Otherwise 
hee could not say, ‘ I will do it, or, I haue done it.’ 

“ But, yet, they are hard sayings, might some one say, and 
they seeme, in truth, to import as much as if God was thereby 
made the causer of sinne, and had ; a delight in sinne. For 
how is it possible that hee should not be the causer of sinne 
and have a delight and pleasure in ’ sinne, when he hath not 
onely determined the same that it should be accomplished, 
but, also, hath himselfe a hande in the worke, and moueth man- 
kinde therevnto ? 

“ Answer. Blind, mad and peremptory reason thinks so in- 
deed. But whosoeuer submitteth himselfe to the word of God 
with an humble heart, he shall well know and learn to vnder- 
stand that God is no causer of sinne, or hath delight and pleasure 
in sinne, though indeed he haue ordained that this or that sinful 
worke of his creature should come to 'passe, and the worke must 
be done, yea, hee ascribeth it to himself. The which the 
better to vnderstand, by the God-fearing reader, wee will im- 
part this information in short, according to our powers, for his 
assistance. 

“ The Almighty God, as he once created all things, euen so 
gouerneth hee all things continually by his Jprouidence. 'There- 
fore the prouidence of God is nothing else than the Almighty 
gouernment of God ouer all creatures, both good and bad, and 
containeth two parts in it. 

“ 1. That he maintaineth the being and power of all creatures? 
so far, and in what manner it pleaseth him ; without which 
maintenance no creature can be sustained a minute of one hour, 
or is able to rule or moue himselfe, in the least measure, as Paul 
saith, hee giveth to all life and breath and all things . Also, In 
hime we Hue , and moue , and haue our being. 

“ 2. That he hath the motions of all creatures in his hands, 
and turneth them which way he will, according to the work, 
which hee will^ accomplish by them [; as Dauid saith, they con - 


304 


tinue all by thine ordinances. Ps. exix. 91., and the examples 
manifest that, sometimes fire, sometimes water, sometimes 
good, sometimes bad angels, sometimes godly, sometimes 
wicked men, sometimes frogs, sometimes lice, &c., must 
serue to accomplish his councells. And there is nothing ex- 
empt from such a disposing God. Euen, also, that which 
seemeth to be already performed, as it is written, The lot is 
cast into the lap , but the whole disposition thereof is of the Lord ; 
not yet the very harts and thoughts of men, as it is written, 
From the habitation of his dwelling hee beholdeth all them that 
dwell on the earth ; he fashioneth their hearts euery one. 

“ It is true, God hath, indeed, the angels and men with that 
kind and nature that they can move themselves by their own 
free will, and either intend this or that. Euen, indeed, as they 
doe. But for all that, he holdeth the raines of their free will in 
his hande, in such a manner that either hee can let them proceed 
when it goeth after his will, or hee can pull it backe, or moue 
it to this, or the other side, euen as sometimes a man draweth 
on a beast to a snare, which he letteth either passe freely before 
him, or pulleth backe, or can turne hither or thither, which 
comparison God himselfe vseth, where he saith to the king of 
Assiria, 4 1 will put my hooke in thy nostrils, and my bridle in 
thy lips, and will bringe thee backe againe, the same way thou com- 
est.’ Esa. xxxvii. 29. 

“From whence it may well be said that the permission of 
Godls not a bare permission, but that God hath alwais a hand 
with them in the action. For in all permissions of God con- 
curre these two parts of the foreknowledge together. First, 
that he sustaineth the being and power of the creature, even 
in the committing of sinne, as is well known. Second, that he 
hath, also, their wicked and sinful motions in his hands, and so 
turneth them that the same must be affected thereby, which 
hee will have effected to the furtherance of his glory, and the 
benefit of his servants. Therefore, hee also ascribeth the 
worke which is effected in this manner, oftentimes to himselfe, 
as the abovenamed examples doe witnesse. 

“ The same is one part of the special vnspeakeable wisdome 
of God, that hee can so manage his government, that he, also, 


305 


with those creatures, which yet doe what they doe, out of free 
will, and in respect of their natures could do otherwise, yet, for 
all that, can unfallibly accomplish the same, which hee hath de- 
termined to have accomplished by them. 

“ Doctor Luther saith thus of this matter : If not wee our- 
selves, but God worketh in vs our salvation, then cannot wee 
act any thing bodily, before such time as his, is there ; doe wee, 
frame wee, and worke wee it, the best wee can. And I say 
wee must doe wickedly, not that we are enforced thereunto ; 
but as we vse to say, it must be so of necessity, without resist- 
ance, and yet not by any powerful compulsion or force. That 
is, when a man hath not the spirit of God, then is hee not, as it 
were, driven headlong by force, that he must commit wicked- 
nesse against his will, (as they vse to carry a theefe or mur- 
therer to the gallows against his will,) but he doth it willingly 
and gladly, &c. ; that is here, by vs, called a must, or a must 
be of necessity, which is not subject to alteration. Wit. 
Germ. fol. 479. Also, we know well that Judas betrayed 
Christ willingly ; but we say that such a will in Judas was cer- 
tainly and unchangeably to be accomplished, at the time and 
houre as God has determined it. Or, if wee bee not yet vn- 
derstood, then wee must make a difference of two necessities — 
one necessity where a thing must come to passe at a certaine 
time without constraint. He that now heares vs speake, let 
him know that we spake of the last, and not of the first . 
That is, we do not speake of this, whether Judas was willingly 
a traitor or against his will ; but whether it must come to pass 
at the time and hour which God had determined vnchangeably, 
that he should betray Christ willingly. Fol. 529. A. 

“ This is the construstion of vs and Doctor Luther, how these 
things are to be understood ; that nothing cometh to passe un- 
lesse God hath ordained that it should come to passe, whether it 
bee good or euil, and that it must come to passe, euen as the 
Lord hath determined it. And that the permission of God is 
not a bare and empty permission, but that alwaies there is min- 
gled something of his working.” 

They proceed to answer objections, and to some further il- 
lustrations, but a sufficiency has been taken to show the reader, 
26 * 


306 


that their reasonings on this subject are precisely the same as 
those of the writers of New-England, who are so continually ac- 
cused of holding that God is the author of sin. I shall there- 
fore close this number with a few remarks. 

1. From the opinions of these German divines, so largely 
quoted, it appears that they believed there was a certain divine 
efficiency in all the accountable actions of creatures, both good 
and bad, which, however, no w'ay impaired or altered their ac- 
countability : or, in their own words, “ that the permission of 
God is not a bare and empty permission, but that alwaies there 
is mingled something of his workeing.” Less than this cannot 
be inferred from the nature and perfections of an almighty in- 
finitely wise God, who created, and every moment sustains, all 
creatures, and all their actions. 

2. They clearly perceived two kinds of necessity operating 
on the actions of creatures. First, force , or what may be term- 
ed physical necessity. This always destroys accountableness, 
or is incompatible with it. Thus the plants move by physical 
necessity ; and thus a criminal, who is carried forcibly to exe- 
cution, motives under a physical necessity. Secondly , moral ne- 
cessity, which is so far from being inconsistent with accountable, 
ness, that it is essential to it. As in the above quotation : “ Then,” 
says Luther, “ we must make a difference of two necessities : 
one necessity , where I am forced to worke by force — the other jicces- 
sity , where a thing must come to passe at a certaine time.” 

Moral necessity arises from the infallible certainty that, all 
beings possessed of reason will act according to their choice, 
or, as says Jonathan Edwards, “ according to the greatest ap- 
parent good, at the time.” Hence the moral order of events is 
as established and unalterable as the natural or physical ; and 
moral necessity is as essential ] to freedom and accountableness, 
as physical is incompatible with it ; and if this kind of moral ne- 
cessity did not exist, there could be no such thing as foreknow- 
ledge or preordination, any more than the frame and motions 
of the natural universe could subsist without the operation of 
physical necessity. 

It is easy to perceive that no event can be the proper object 


307 


of prescience or preordination which is not either immediately 
and infallibly connected with the energy of the divine will, or 
else mediately and more remotely, though not less infallibly, 
connected therewith, by its forming a link in the chain of events 
infallibly connected together, as cause and effect, and which 
chain must somewhere be connected with the almighty energy 
of God’s will. Or, in other words, it cannot be certainly fore- 
known that any event will take place, but by its infallible con- 
nexion with a cause which can and will produce it. “ Thus,” 
says the above quotation, “ when a man hath not the spirit of 
God, then is hee not driuen, as it were headlong, by force, that 
he must commit wickednesse against his will, but he doth it 
willingly and gladly ; and that is here by us called a must , or 
must be of necessity which is not subject to alteration.” But 
this is a moral necessity as above explained. 

3. These writers had clearly in view the distinction termed 
moral inability, though they did not call it by that name. Thus, 
again, as in the above quotation, they say, “ when a man hath 
not the spirit of God, then is he not driven by force, that he 
should commit 'wickedness against his will ; but he doth it wil- 
lingly and gladly ; — and, in respect to his own powers, could 
do otherwise, i. e . could be holy, and obey God, yet for all 
that he must sin : and although Judas, in respect to his physi- 
cal powers, might have done otherwise, yet, nevertheless, he 
must betray Christ. A moral inability to do right, and a moral 
necessity of doing wrong, always lie by the side of each other, 
are of equal force, though that force be not physical, and do in 
no case impair a man’s guilt ; for they are alike the evidence of 
freedom and the measure of guilt. If Judas betrayed Christ 
freely and willingly, then, with respect to his own physical 
powers, he might have done otherwise ; but, in reference to his 
moral character, he could not do otherwise. When a traveller 
comes to two roads, he certainly is fully at liberty, and has 
physical powers to take either ; but when he has made his elec- 
tion, and taken one, then it will appear that he was morally un- 
able to take the other, and, of course, that what he did was un- 
der a moral necessity ; which, as I said, consists in the infallible 
certainty that a man will always act according to the greatest ap- 


308 


parent good, all things considered, at the time. Whoever, there- 
fore says, understanding^, that a man cannot act contrary to hb 
will, or cannot change his will, means, if I may so say, a moral 
and not a physical cannot ; as Luther in the above quotation, 
when he says a sinner must sin, means not a physical, but a 
moral must, or necessity. 

I shall conclude this number, by observing, that as a moral 
inability to do an act is as effectual a bar as a physical, so the 
influence or force of moral is as great and certain as that of 
a physical necessity. And I will illustrate this by citing a scrip- 
ture fact. “ And Elisha said unto him , (Hazael,) go say unto 
him , (Benhadad,) thou mayest certainly recover , howbeit the 
Lord hath showed me that he shall surely die.” The message 
sent to Benhadad was, “ Thou mayest certainly recover,” yet 
Elisha told Hazael that God had assured him that Benhadad 
should die. The murderers of Benhadad acted freely, i . e. un- 
der no physical force or compulsion ; they might have let him 
alone ; he might have recovered, yet God’s certain and eternal 
purpose issued, and was previously declared, on the inevitable 
operation of a merely moral necessity. They must kill him. 

The observation has elsewhere been made, and it ought to 
satisfy every humble and every rational mind, that God, who 
can create, constitute, and uphold a moral agent, can unaltera- 
bly decree all his actions, and can have an efficient agency in 
the same, and yet not impair their freedom or accountableness. 
Those who raise an outcry at this doctrine, which is absolutely 
necessary to the perfections of God, seem to think nothing of 
the power and skill necessary to create and sustain a moral 
agent. 


INVESTIGATOR. 


309 


< 


PREFACE TO NUMBER IV. 


The triangular men are endeavouring to make common cause 
with presbyterianism, to engraft their scheme of doctrine on that 
Church, to avail themselves of her reputation, power, and sanc- 
tions, and to stigmatise all opposition to their tenets as neither 
more nor less than opposition to the church. This ground is now 
rather preferred to the old and idle outcry of Arminianism ! Sev- 
eral bold and successful sorties have been made, even some judi- 
catories have been unfortunately influenced by rash and furious 
spirits. 

They have already got up their phrases and watchwords. The 
tessira has been sent round. “ Such a man is a good Presbyterian ,” 
is a phrase well understood to convey all the properties and quali- 
ties of a spiritual triangle. But this expression imports something 
far beyond the limits of abstract doctrine, as the following num- 
ber will show. 

These gentlemen are mistaken. The Presbyterian church in 
America is never to become a triangular pyramid. It is not to be 
doubted that a clear majority in that body, and, I trust, a large 
majority are on the side of correct sentiments. The efforts which 
certain persons are making to curtail and suppress the right of 
private judgment, and bear down the truth, can neither endure the 
light of fair examination, nor the just abhorrence of a nation, 
which knows the price of her privileges. “ They shall,” I trust, 
“ proceed no further, and their folly shall be manifest to all men.” 

The Hopkinsians are condemned as odious heretics, and as 
preaching doctrines which flatter the pride, and corroborate the 
corruptions of the human heart. The object of the following 
number is to show that preachers may soothe the pride, flatter the 
vanity, and cherish the corruptions of their hearers, and yet never 
preach Hopkinsian doctrines. That this is done by many who 
lay such imposing and obtrusive claims to orthodoxy — that it is 
essential and radical to their scheme of doctrine, as well as to 
their manner of preaching, I have the fullest assurance : and if 
the reader do not, in the following remarks, recognise traits with 
which he is familiar, I will allow him to doubt of their correctness. 


310 


These men, for it is precisely the same class, are endeavouring 
to bring our judicatories into the tedious, perplexing, and endless 
formalities of civil courts, to adopt their technical phrases, their 
doctrines of precedents, their rules of evidence, their doctrines 
of appeals, and their whole modus operandi , by which it must 
often happen, perhaps through some trifling informality, that pro- 
ceedings are varied or arrested, justice is delayed, its rights per- 
verted, or entirely contravened. And if the ministers of Christ 
are not liable to forget themselves in this immense and accumula- 
ting mass of judicial formalities and legal subtleties, rendered op- 
pressive and importunate by conflicting interests, supported by 
opposition of talents and parties ; if they do not lose the gentle- 
ness and benevolence, the meekness and sincerity, the integrity 
and firmness, which belong to their character — and if, when long 
surrounded by the appearance, they do not, at length, adopt the 
manners, the arts, intrigues, and corruptions of civil courts, with 
more latitude of perversion, because checked by laws less particu- 
lar — with more pride and arrogance, because protected by an ex- 
ternal badge of humility, and with less regard to truth, because 
in a wider field of construction — then perhaps there is no danger ; 
and neither argument, expostulation, or sarcasm, are necessary. 


311 


No. IV. 


A GOOD PRESBYTERIAN. 

This is surely a most desirable article. For every thing to 
be good according to its kind, would be “ a consummation de- 
voutly to be wished,” both in the natural and moral world. For 
every handicraftsman to be a good mechanic — every one who 
commands a vessel to be a good navigator — every agriculturist 
a good farmer — every clerk a good accountant — every member 
of the national counsels a good statesman — every clergyman a 
good preacher, and every professor of religion a good Christian, 
would have a happy influence on the welfare of society. 

But I often hear the phrase, a good presbyterian , used with an 
air of significance, with certain intonations of voice, and expres- 
sions of countenance, which seem to indicate something border- 
ing on an occult meaning. To come plainly to the point, this 
is a phrase almost exclusively belonging to the triangular scheme. 
I have seldom heard it used but by gentlemen of that order, or 
as an echo from them, or in some allusion or reference to that 
source. It surely cannot be but that there must be many good 
presbyterians out of the triangle ; if by good is intended the 
common import of that term, that i3, they are presbyterians in 
sentiment, and good men ; but whether they are good presbyte- 
rians, with a nod of the head, with a little flexure of the cervi- 
cal muscles to the left shoulder, an approximation of the eye- 
brows, and a curl of sentiment, half mystery, and half threat, 
descending to the upper lip, the reader may be better able to 
determine in the sequel of this number. Among the rhetorical 
characteristics of this phrase, perhaps, I ought to have said it is 
usually pronounced with an emphasis on the word presbyterian , 
and a strong accent on the antipenultimate syllable te. 

Since the words virtue, and disinterestedness, and holiness, 
and charity, and morality, fare so badly among them, I am 
heartily glad to have them so thoroughly adopt one good term^ 


312 


and I am not unwilling to allow them the merit of being good 
presbyterians, as far as I have evidence to believe they are 
good men. 

I have been at some pains to discover the true technical im- 
port of this phrase ; and to discover all its meaning is not the 
work of a moment. Dictionaries or encyclopaedias are of no use ; 
for the terms are used to convey an import entirely remote from 
their lexicographic definition. It reminds me of some astronomi- 
cal discoveries which have been made by a long course of ob- 
servation, in which patience, vigilance, and perseverance alone, 
could arrive at the desired end. The process necessary to the 
discovery is something like a physician carefully watching the 
diagnostics of a lingering disease, in order that he may thereby 
arrive at its remote and approximate causes, and the indications 
of cure. With what success I have pursued this subject, the 
reader will certainly judge for himself, but I suspect I have 
nearly completed the work, and I shall immediately lay before 
the world the result of my observations. 

One thing, however, must be premised : This phrase relates 
entirely to clergymen. As for a layman, all that is wanted of 
him is to be a good ministerial man ; which is a different affair 
from being a good presbyterian ; though in its place not much 
less important. The term good, even in this minor phrase, has 
no relation to moral goodness, of course, since no such thing is 
known in all the triangular regions. But if I am able to suc- 
ceed to my mind in the present article, I may perhaps give 
the reader a small number on the qualifications of the good min- 
isterial layman. 

A good presbyterian, then, is a clergyman possessed of the 
following qualifications : 

1. He is thoroughly opposed to metaphysics ; I mean meta- 
physics according to the triangular scheme. Let no reader start 
at this assertion, and conclude it to be extravagant — not even 
the good presbyterians themselves — for I think I can bring its 
truth home to every man’s conscience who is capable of reflec- 
tion, and possesses a good memory. They have the' best rea- 
sons in the world for this aversion. Metaphysical subjects are 


313 

nothing but dry, curious argumentations, and if sometimes true, 
always useless. 

And why should they trouble their hearers with nice and te- 
dious arguments ? People are never the better for being logi- 
cians ; they do not want to reason — they only want to believe. 
In allusion to this, therefore, they seldom ever speak of Chris- 
tians under any other appellation than “ believe rs .” And surely 
it is a term used in the Bible. They have a far better and more 
instructive method of filling up their sermons than by argu- 
ments. They prove their points by scripture ; and I have often 
heard several whole pages of scripture brought to prove that 
the soul of man is immortal — that his body must die — that there 
is a future state, &c. 

It is of no consequence if every person in the assembly as 
firmly believes the point as the preacher. He feels better satis- 
fied to make his work strong as he goes on. He must prove it — 
and he does prove it — and that is not metaphysics. If he takes 
this text, “ Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and 
full of trouble,” he will, perhaps, 1st. Show what is implied 
in being born of a woman ; 2d. What is implied in being of 
few days ; and 3d. What is implied in being full of trouble. 
All those points he will prove by an abundance of scripture, 
without any mixture of metaphysics ; and that surely is preach- 
ing out of the Bible, is it not \ 

I can safely declare, that I never in my life heard one of 
your real “ good presbyterians” trouble or puzzle his audience 
with an elaborate metaphysical argument ; unless the proving 
of a long string of commonplace topics, by a still longer string 
of texts of scripture, can be called such. And I leave it for 
the reader to judge, whether the good presbyterian’s sermon, so 
managed, does not produce the best effect possible ; for the more 
points he proves by scripture, the more will his audience think 
him mighty in the scriptures : and they cannot but say “ this 
man has prodigious knowledge in the scriptures.” 

Who ever read Euclid’s demonstrations without a continual 
effort of mind ? And for a preacher to come forward with argu- 
ments, no matter how clear his demonstrations, that will re- 
quire a perpetual intensity of attention from his audience, is it 
27 


314 


not cruel to exact from them such painful attentions ? Especial- 
ly, the refined and delicate minds of ladies do not want to be 
tortured with Euclid from the desk, when they never studied 
him at school. Is it not certain that they would be better pleas- 
ed with a few obvious truths, made more obvious by scriptural 
proofs, delivered in an agreeable manner ? 

The triangular preacher, or a good presbyterian, (I use them 
as synonymous, for I never knew a man who was fairly out of 
the triangle dignified by that apellation, although, for my life, 
I cannot see why they are not as good as others,) has another me- 
thod of proving his work than by scripture, and far more agree- 
able than by the tedious process of argument, however demon- 
strative. He can with ease prove it by the authority of some of the 
“ old divines.” And this mode of proof has one advant age over 
all others whatever ; however absurd the point is he wishes 
to prove, and however false and ridiculous the authority he 
quotes, yet, generally speaking, the proof he wants coming up 
suddenly, like Samuel’s ghost, out of the sacred gloom of an- 
tiquity, any opposition to the argument fares li ke king Saul — 
is at once knocked down before it. And since t he great ob- 
ject of gospel preaching is to produce “ belief 99 in the audience, 
the quicker that is done the sooner that object is gained, and it 
is not of so much moment by what methods. I n this solitary 
case we may almost admit that the end sanctifies the means. 
I might enlarge on this head very much, but it shall suffice to 
say, that the churches and congregations of the good presbyter i- 
ans , in whom a full and unwavering “belief” is achieved, 
never trouble themselves about metaphysical disputes nor use- 
less distinctions — are not carried away with every wind of 
doctrine ; and as they believe that “ great and general princi- 
ples are connected, and incorporated in their results,” they re- 
ceive all truth nearly as one proposition, or, at most, as included 
in two or three grand points. They never admit of innovations, 
and never depart from sound words. When they hear a new 
preacher they never stand to examine his propositions or argu- 
ments ; but have only to notice the run of a few sentences, and 
they can tell whether it is the form of sound words which denote 
■d good presbyterian. But, 


315 


2. The good presbyterian holds another advantage, perhaps 
over most other preachers in the world. He has a faculty of 
preaching the truth in a way that will never offend his audience. 
But here some little explanations will be necessary. By truth 
I do not mean absolute and certain truth, but, in general, such 
matter as makes up his sermons, and which he, in the main, 
considers as truth, although “ it may chance of wheat or some 
other grain. ’’ And by his audience I mean that body of people 
who have set down under his preaching, with their minds made 
up to like him, for what he is as a man, and a good presbyte- 
rian. He may, indeed, have hearers about him who want no- 
thing but metaphysical jargon ; who will receive nothing as truth 
unless made out as tediously as Euclid proves that all the sides 
of a triangle are equal to two right angles. He may have hear- 
ers who expect he will work miracles and who are so distract- 
ed as to undertake to weigh all his and all their own opinions in 
the scale of evidence, rejecting every thing which cannot be 
proved. He may have hearers who will dare audaciously to 
rip up all the sacred and venerable customs and traditions, 
which thousands of the gratest and best of men lived, and died, 
and are gone to heaven in, and if he cannot have them proved 
by scripture, or by Euclid, will imperiously and rashly reject 
them. As for these curses to society, and scourges of good 
presbyterianism, they may never like him or any body else. 

But the good presbyterian has the distinguished felicity of 
pleasing his audience. For this I have the highest authority. 
A great and learned doctor lately told a young clergyman that 
there was no necessity of offending people. That for his part 
he had preached the gospel faithfully, for more than twenty 
years, in a great and populous city, and had never offended his 
audience. Perhaps this is a happy secret, known only to the 
good presbyterian. I believe, however, it may be traced out. 
I believe I have it ; and if so, I shall certainly claim some me- 
rit as an original, for setting it before the public for the benefit 
of all young preachers. 

I have reduced this important art into several general propo- 
sitions, and if in discussing these, any else should appear neces- 
sary, it shall be noticed afterwards. 


316 


Proposition I. 

The preacher of the gospel who does not mean to offend his 
audience must not disturb their repose, hurt their feelings, or 
trouble their consciences too much. I do not mean to say that 
he must never come near the conscience of his audience ; that 
will sometimes be admissible, provided it be prudently man- 
aged, not done too frequently, nor pressed too far. 

And who can find fault with this rule ? It is well known that 
convicting people of crimes or sins will not reform them. Be- 
sides, when you press the gentlest of anim als into a corner, 
they will not fail to turn upon you ; much more so will the lion 
and the wild boar of the forest: whereas, if you allow them 
a range of field, they will generally be inoffensive. Far be it 
from me to compare gentlemen and ladies, the refined inhabit- 
ants of great and polished cities, to these terrible and ferocious 
animals. But there is a principle of resistance in every inhab- 
itant of this fallen world, which had better not be pressed too 
far, nor called into operation at all, unless the strongest necessi- 
ty require it. What was the effect when even St. Paul him- 
self reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to 
come, and made the abandoned and profligate Felix tremble ? 
Why, Felix shunned him ever after, and probably never heard 
him again. But it must be remembered that St. Paul was in- 
spired to do what he did, therefore could not do otherwise. 
But as ministers now are not inspired, or at least, not all of 
them, it stands them in hand to be cautious how they drive away 
their hearers by pressing upon their consciences. 

But, reader, when you see the polite and elegant part of an 
assembly disgusted because a preacher handles their consciences 
too freely ; when the preacher thunders upon them so terribly 
that the venerable head of a great man, however oppressed 
with drowsiness, cannot for a moment recline in soft repose ; — 
the lovely dimpling smiles of some fair creature are superseded 
by paleness ; graceful airs and elegant forms are forgotten, 
and fanciful dresses, just imported from London and Paris, shall 
attract no attention ; — what are you to think, and what will 


317 


people say ? Surely they will say, “ This man wishes to drive 
us to heaven: but he is much mistaken. We do not intend to 
be driven there, even if we condescend to go there at all.” 

And does not a preacher owe something to humanity and po- 
liteness ? How much better would be the effect, if, when he 
ascends the desk, he would adjust his features to the lightsome 
air of a gay and benignant smile ; would modulate his voice to 
the soft and pleasant tones which regulate the conversations of 
the polite circles; and when he comes to certain unpleasant 
and chilling truths, to crave the pardon of his audience, and a- 
dopt some little softening circumlocutions, such as an expe- 
rienced physician would resort to in speaking of an operation 
to be performed on a child, or some person of delicate nerves, 
when that person was present. At the same time, the preacher 
would find it for his interest to hasten over those unpleasant and 
frightful passages ; merely hinting the premises, let him leave 
his hearers to draw the horrible conclusions, when they were 
in a proper situation ; and not force it upon their attention when 
in a great and fashionable assembly, where every thing is desir- 
ed to be soft, charming, and polite, and every well-bred person 
must appear sprightly and gay. 

Much more might be said on this subject, and the young 
preacher may be assured there is something in it. If he is fre- 
quent and pungent in his attempts to reach and alarm the 
consciences of his hearers, they will dislike him : the refined 
audiences of great cities will esteem him coarse, vulgar, impru- 
dent, and inhuman. Philosophers will smile at his rawness and 
want of knowledge : the ladies will style him by no means an 
agreeable preacher; his most point-blank shots will fall from 
the aged as hail from a rock of adamant; and they will look up 
at him and seem as though they would say “ Young man, we 
have often seen young men as zealous and confident as you 
are and it is a chance if the young and gay do not avoid him. 

The old divine I spake of, no doubt knew every shade and 
feature of the human character ; he knew well how to manage 
these things. No wonder, then, that he preached for so many 
years, and never gave offence. 


27 * 


318 


Proposition II. 

A minister of the gospel, who does not mean to give offence, 
must not cause his audience to mistrust that he aims at their 
vices. He may. and must preach rousingly against vice and in- 
fidelity ; but so sure as one of his hearers finds his own vice se- 
verely touched, he will be offended. I know a great and popu- 
lar divine in this city, who will boldly compare infidels to dogs 
and wild beasts ; but he never gives offence. He does it so wit- 
tily they like him the better. 

The case of Nathan’s reproof to David is oft6n urged here : 
and with as little propriety as was the case of Paul and Felix in 
the former proposition. Nathan was inspired, and sent as a 
prophet to reprove king David. But who claims inspiration ? 
And, reader, supposing you knew yourself to be in the habit of 

telling lies ; would you like it if Mr. B should meet you in 

the street to-morrow, and that, too, before a great number of peo- 
ple, and should say to you, “ Sir, you are a liar?” And would 
it not be still more uncivil and unkind to accuse a man before an 
audience, and at a time when custom has forbidden him to 
reply in his own defence, to deny, palliate, or vindicate his 
crime ? 

As this is a point of great delicacy, it cannot be looked at 
with too much exactness and attention. And I shall lay down 
a few principles or maxims which I have deduced from obser- 
vation of the best models : I mean men famous for never giving 
offence, yet strenuous preachers against all wickedness. 

In the first place, I would recommend to the young preacher 
not to be too free in naming vices particularly. He may some- 
times go so far as to specify certain vices, which are considered 
as disgraceful and infamous ; and, on some rare occasions, may 
preach a sermon against them. But his duty is to preach the 
gospel, and, of course, dwelling on particular acts or parts of con- 
duct would not be proper. 

Classification is an excellent method of naming vices so as 
not to give offence. Thus, if one vice is known to prevail, it 
may be put into a long catalogue, and pionounced with such ve- 


319 


hement rapidity as to excite no alarm. And a preacher is par- 
ticularly cautioned, when he mentions any personal faults or 
foibles of any of his hearers, to look, at that moment, round into 
a different quarter of the audience from the place the offenders 
sit ; otherwise they will infallibly be up in arms. And when any 
particular sin is known to prevail in the audience, it may be 
safely mentioned, provided some other sin, which does not prevail, 
is mentioned, soon after it, and dwelt upon with great emphasis 
and severity. 

Let me also remind young preachers, that all the vices con- 
nected with we alth and splendour, under certain aspects, are 
easily introduced into sermons without giving any offence. In 
this form, indeed, I have sometimes heard the finest and most 
exquisite compliments paid to men of fortune ; and then they 
will bear some tolerably severe remarks about covetousness, 
worldly mindedness, luxury, and dissipation. At the very 
name of such a class of men, I have sometimes noticed a dozen 
men in an audience appear to swell into a larger size ; they 
would seem to heave upon their seats, somewhat like a great 
billow from sea, when first it reaches soundings ; and would 
evidently show a conscious pleasure in having perhaps the eyes 
of one hundred, and the thoughts of five times that number, 
turned upon them, who envied them the refreshing reproof that 
fell from the lips of the gentle orator. And when the reproof 
fell, it was brushed from their eyebrows, without pain or effort, 
and perhaps with a smile that reflected the orator’s compliment, 
while half the audience would say, in their hearts, “ O that I 
could merit such reproofs !” 

But the preacher who makes his hearers feel the force of his 
censures, and the smart of conviction, will create uneasiness, 
will procure for himself enemies, and, perhaps, ultimately en- 
danger his salary. Those who will not be instructed by these 
observations must taste the fruits of their temerity. 

Before I leave this proposition, it is important to observe, 
that there are certain collateral topics winch should always be 
associated with preaching againt particular vices. Nothing is 
more agreeable to persons guilty of particular sins than to hear 
it urged, that, after all, it makes but little difference that 


320 


those whose exterior is irreproachable, are generally, perhaps, 
as wicked in some other way. Or if, perhaps, they are not as 
wicked, it is no thanks to them that they are not a great deal 
worse than their neighbours. And this, which is no doubt a 
truth, may, at the same time, be useful to that part of the 
audience who are not guilty of outbreaking sins ; lest they 
should be tempted to boast and glory over others. And is it 
not a hard thing that those who are guilty of no immoral overt 
acts should not be allowed some credit for their morality. 
Some care must be bestowed on the moral part of the audi- 
ence ; lest, when their ascendency over the vicious and pro- 
fane is denied or lessened, they are not also offended. But 
this will be provided for in another part of the subject. 

The grand object is to preach the truth, and yet not offend 
any body ; in order to which one general observation is of al- 
most universal use, and it applies with great force to preaching 
against vice and open immorality. There should be a soft- 
ness, an urbanity, a “ mellowness,” as I have sometimes heard 
it styled, in all the compositions, and addresses, and style, and 
manner of a preacher. A single qualifying term will turn the 
arrow aside : — a softening epithet will wrap its point in silk; — 
a gentle pull at the bow will make it fall short of the mark, or 
if the speaker will display all his energies, he may, by one kind 
adjective, or adverb, raise it over the heads of his audience, 
and then his bow may twang with dreadful sound, and the 
hissing arrow cut the ethereal arch, and like that of Acestes 
take fire in the clouds ; and the hearers will all rejoice that 
they are safe while such dreadful bolts are flying. 

“ T WUOIPIV eXlDv a/i0i7(3£0fa vc (papirpTfv 

E Kyi-av d’apoiarot tji ’ w/zwv xwo/xevoto.” 

Many a frightful storm of eloquence against vice have I heard, 
which brought to my mind the grand fire-works of Catherine II. 
in honour of Prince Henry of Prussia. The line was five miles 
in length, and the imperial court were, for two hours, seated 
under a continuous arch of brilliant flame. 


321 


Proposition III. 

Great care must be used iu preaching against hypocrisy: 
there is, perhaps, no class of men so unwilling to be detected 
as hypocrites. It is not so much on their own account ; for they 
are generally pretty well satisfied, in their own minds, what they 
are, which is the cause of their extreme sensibility, but they are 
unwilling to be laid open before others. And this rule applies 
with nearly equal force to all the vices of the mind, such as pride, 
malice, covetousness, and others. 

What, then, must be said by the preacher in the case of 
hypocrites 1 For surely their case cannot be passed over 
in silence. They are known to be numerous, and their case 
is a most prominent one. There may be some preachers who 
are hypocrites themselves, and they will have the advantage of 
possessing a kind of moral sense about them, which will natu- 
rally keep them on the side of prudence. Yet the desire (I 
will not call it ambition) they may have to be thought pungent, 
powerful, and faithful preachers, may sometimes carry them too 
far. 

The first rule is never, or very seldom, to preach against hy- 
pocrisy professedly ; for it is a certain fact, that the delicate 
nerves and refined feelings of that class of people never can 
long endure the steady contemplation of that picture, even though 
drawn in its most favourable colours; but, certainly, if painted 
in all its hideous deformity, they will rise into opposition, pro- 
vided they should not sink under conviction — a case very impro- 
bable. 

In the second place, it is not best for the preacher to intimate 
any suspicion that there are hypocrites in his audience. For 
he will thereby subject himself to the charge of judging hearts, 
and of being unkind and uncharitable in his feelings. Prophets 
and apostles might lay and substantiate such charges, but unin- 
spired preachers have no right to accuse their hearers of more 
than they can prove in foro ecclesia. 

In the third place, when hypocrisy is, if it ever is directly 


322 


mentioned, or a little enlarged upon, it should be done with a 
gentle hand, and in a mild and mellow style and manner, as 
though the preacher could by no means, for a moment, harbour 
the idea that any thing like it was among his people ; yet, lest 
there might be danger, he should tenderly and most politely per- 
suade them to be careful in comparing their characters with our 
great standards, and see to it that there was no deficiency. 
Methinks I can almost hear him with a grave and benignant smile 
say thus : 

“ Brethren, I cannot make you more duly sensible than you 
are, how important it is that you should be genuine and sincere 
Christians. Think not that I wish to discourage or dishearten 
you. Let me rather direct your attention to the abundance and 
fulness of the divine promises. Yet, be exhorted to see to it 
that your faith is strong and unwavering, that you have an 
abundance of the divine spirit. Be exhorted not to be fearful 
and unbelieving, and let your sincerity be incited by the grace 
of him who has done and promised so much ; and since he has 
promised, do you see that he fulfils his promises ; yea, keep him 
to his word.” 

And will not an audience understand the meaning of all this ? 
Will they not believe it to be an exhortation against hypocrisy ? 
And why should that horrible, disgusting, unfashionable word be 
used at all ? 

Proposition IV. 

The preacher that would not give offence must not argue 
points too painfully, i. e. must never reason very closely, nor 
very long ; much less must he deliver whole sermons, and ser- 
mon, after sermon, which consist of compact bodies of solid rea- 
soning. It matters not to suppose his reasoning shall amount to 
demonstration in every case, for that would be so much the wrnrse. 
He will fail of his grand object — he will give offence. 

Several bad consequences will follow this mode of preaching. 

1. The entire frame of the Triangular doctrine depends on 
what some might perhaps style mystery and “ faith .” They 


323 


cannot be supported by reasoning ; let any one attempt it, and, 
in spite of all his efforts, they will fall to the ground. This has 
been often tried, and has often had a similar result. But, 

2. Such a strain of argumentative preaching would produce 
a metaphysical taste in the hearers, who would soon arrive at 
that pass that they would take no pleasure in loose, incohe- 
rent, and declamatory sermons ; and would be satisfied with 
nothing but a systematic strain of reasoning. The young 
preacher should, therefore, make his discourses as declamatory 
as possible, which will give scope for energy, zeal, and pathos ; 
and provided he introduces a great many passages of scripture, 
he will save himself from the charge of being a common -place 
preacher. 

3 Declamatory sermons, with little or no argument, are com- 
posed with incomparably less mental labour than those which 
are truly argumentative and demonstrative. Hence, they are 
far easier to every grade of talent, and, in fact, may be acquired 
by men of the most inferior talents. In a great dearth of ta- 
lents, therefore, who would not think it the most safe course to 
condemn and reject argumentative preaching as useless, for the 
sake of adopting a plan far more easy and sure of success ? nay, 
if well followed up, sure of acquiring for a man the reputation 
of great talents. For, reader, it is a fact, that some of our most 
wonderfully great men are nothing more than mere declaimers. 
They have a good deal of promptness and confidence about them ; 
can look as wise as any man living; can assert roundly, and 
doing this, most people neither know nor care whether the dis- 
course is made up of truisms, common-places, or any thing else, 
provided the horrible Hopkinsian metaphysical arguments are 
avoided. 

This matter is so extremely important that I must add some- 
thing, for which some of my readers may have cause to thank 
me for being tedious. I will put a secret talisman into the 
hands of the simplest, most feeble, and insipid young man, 
whereby, in a few years, he shall have two great D’s added 
to his name. Let him but go through college, no matter 
how lazy and idle he is, he must haggle down a little Latin, and 


324 


a very little of tupto, tuptise, &c. ; then let him go to the the- 
ological school, and fall boldly at the Hebrew, read the first verse 
of Genesis, and one or two in Psalms. Philosophy, mathematics, 
history, and works of taste, are of no consequence to him. He 
must, by and by, attack biblical criticism, and learn how to cor- 
rect the translation in a dozen or twenty places : make a little 
noise about Campbell and Stuart, overthrow Locke and Edwards, 
which he can do in a fortnight, turn over a few old Latin books, 
such as Turretin, Pictete, and Rigeley, read a little in the exposi- 
tors and systematics, patch up an exegesis, and write some 
exercises. He need not read much ; must copy a great deal ; 
must talk a great deal ; think little ; never reason ; it is always 
better to assert, and leave the onus probandi to be made out by 
such as, in their dull wisdom, may want it. 

In short, as to learning, he may get more or less as he pleases ; 
his grand object is to arrive at licensure, then the important 
task commences. In his sermons, frequent quotations from the 
old divines, and the standards, will be important. It will be 
unlucky if he can get nothing from the old divines : and, reader, 

I simply ask the question, whether he may not sometimes quote 
a sentence from some old divine, even although he never saw 
the book, provided he is sure he does not differ from that author? 
For instance, he may sometimes remark, “ as says the learned 
and pious Limborch or Pictete.” For it would be a wonder, 
indeed, if Limborch or Pictete did not say that thing at one 
time or another. This would be a great help to him on va- 
rious occasions. 

But this young man must preach soundly and roundly the 
triangle ; must assert that mankind have no manner of ability 
to do any thing ; — must have such terms as spiritual , mystery , 
grace , imputations federal head , covenant , in every sentence; — 
must knock down metaphysics, and all trains of reasoning ; — 
must assert very boldly, and make his audience feel that he has 
authority and power. 

His tones and gestures may be taken from a fourth rate ac- 
tor, provided he can go so high : he must swell up his words 
with great pomp, and if he can hit a little of the Caledonian 


325 


brogue, all the better. Yet all must be done with a pretty air, 
looking polite, wise, sagacious, profound, and as big as possible. 

I believe I need not add, any thing like a con formity to these 
rules will make the man a public wonder ; so that even when 
he walks the street, modesty will often compel him to lower 
down his hat, and hide his face, to escape the ardent gaze of ob- 
trusive curiosity . — Dico quid scio. 

Beside these pulpit qualifications, there are some others of 
great importance, in their influence, and their best recommen- 
dation is that they cost little labour or effort. This young man 
must early and strongly attach himself to great men, and lead- 
ing characters, whether great or little. He must never oppose 
their measures, dispute their sentiments, nor expose their foibles ; 
must be ready to second their motions, trumpet their praise, 
humour their passions, flatter their prejudices, imbibe their 
ideas, and disseminate their opinions. He must, indeed, suffer 
these men to stand upon his shoulders, and if they now and 
then kick a little, not seem to mind it — that by their influence, 
in due time, he may stand upon the shoulders of others. There 
is vast science in this system, from which through a legal and 
visible hierarchy is excluded, with great abhorrence yet all 
its benefits are countervailed by a texture of influence and 
interest, wrought into a fabric of equal height and solidity. A 
hierarchy |i3 a real staircase cut round a pyramid, on every step 
of which men have a level foothold firm and easy. But where 
no stairs are cut in the smooth steep, the ascending and super- 
incumbeut fabric of power is sustained and pushed upwards, 
by extended substructions of broad and brawny shoulders be- 
low. I shall say little about it : but if a man would hope to 
rise, he must apply his shoulders to the timbers he can reach, 
and it is no great matter where he begins. However, he must 
bow himself, like Sampson, but for a different purpose. Yet 
it will generally happen, that while he pushes some upwards, 
he must pull others downwards. Thus, by a nice eye, a resolute 
hand, and due dexterity, he will first perhaps be in equilibria , 
then buoyant, at length rampant, and, last of all, salient. He 
will then naturally plant his feet on shoulders, or heads, below ; 
but must never cease to shove those about him, that he may rise 
28 


326 


after them. These are hints by-the-by ; and a word to the 
wise is sufficient. Blit here sometimes is witnessed a curious 
scuffle, which would give scope to the pencil of Hogarth, or the 
pen of Butler. 

I should now proceed to the third and last, and by far the 
greatest quality of the good presbyterian, in the true technical 
import of the phrase. But the very great importance of the 
subject, together with some original hints, seem to forbid it a 
place in this series. It will appear in the next. Indeed, if I 
have been so fortunate as to lay down rules whereby a minister 
may preach, and not offend his audience, in this refined and 
fastidious age, I think the rest may safely be put off for a few 

irppb’C 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. V. 

There is no point more importunately urged by the triangu- 
lar divines, than that the understanding of the sinner is as much 
depraved as the will. To make out this doctrine, they set their 
best metaphysical powers and talents in the most logical array. 
There is not room to enter largely into this discussion, at pre- 
sent ; nor, indeed, can I conceive that much room or time is 
necessary to present the subject in a point of light both intelligible 
and satisfactory. 

The zeal which prompts these strenuous endeavours to make 
out the depravity of the understanding, arises from their profess- 
ed desire to make the doctrine of depravity complete, affecting 
all parts of the soul alike, and, as they allege, to deprive the sin- 
ner of all opportunity to boast, or glory, in any thing which he 
has, while in a state of impenitence ; and to make out his na- 
tural state to be the most ruined and the worst possible. In 
their notions of the depravity of the understanding, they find 
their chief countenance and support for denying and rejecting 


327 


the doctrine of moral inability ; for they say as the understand- 
ing is as deeply depraved as the will, there must, therefore, be 
something in the way of a sinner’s return to holiness and to 
God, beside merely the want of will, or disposition to do it. 

If a mere persuasion could alter the natural condition of men ; 
if believing our state to be better or worse than it is, would 
make it better or worse, there would be a motive to distort evi- 
dence, to shut our eyes against light, and to wrest the scriptures 
in which our characters are faithfully portrayed. But, as things 
are, our highest interest, and only security, seems greatly to de- 
pend on our having just conceptions of our condition, without 
which we can hardly be supposed to receive, or appreciate, the 
remedy God has provided. 

I shall convey my opinion on this subject to the reader, under 
the following particulars : — 

1. The will, or, what is usually termed the moral faculty of 
the soul, is that alone which has any concern with sin or holi- 
ness, virtue or vice, or by what ever name those things may be 
called. On the contrary, the understanding, or intellect, is that 
faculty of the mind of which knowledge or ignorance is alone 
predicable. It is the perceiving faculty, the eye of the soul ; 
and, according as it is differently modified, it is the fountain of 
reason, memory, judgment, &c. 

Depravity, as far as sin or holiness, right or wrong, are con- 
cerned, has no connexion with the understanding, is not predi- 
cable of it, any more than it is a material substance, such as 
stone or timber. So, on the other hand, neither is knowledge, 
reason, memory, or judgment, predicable of the will, or moral 
faculty. They, indeed, both belong to the soul, yet they are 
departments distinct from, and independent of, each other. 
Whoever asserts that the understanding is depraved , may as cor- 
rectly assert, that the will reasons or perceives ; i. e. if he 
means any thing more than that there is a want of knowledge, 
judgment, or power of perception in the understanding. 

2. By depravity of understanding, then, must be meant igno- 
rance, the want of knowledge, or of strength of faculty to ac- 
quire it. I might more largely justify and demonstrate these 
positions, but they will not be denied. It then remains to in- 


328 


quire what necessary and established, or adventitious and ac- 
cidental connexion there is between wickedness of heart and 
depravity of understanding, or ignorance, by which I mean the 
same thing. And this inquiry will naturally resolve itself into 
two parts, viz. as it relates to reason and experience, and as it 
relates to the express testimony of scripture. 

1. The light of reason and experience affords no evidence 
that there is any necessity , or immediate connexion between sin 
and ignorance, either as cause and effect, or as inseparable con- 
comitants. 

Sin is a free, or voluntary act ; and, for aught we can see, re- 
quires and implies as much voluntariness and intellect — as 
much moral liberty and knowledge as holiness. Sin is a trans- 
gression of the law of God ; but the great command of the law is, 
“ Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine 'heart” Now, 
we have no evidence that the first sin of Satan, or of Adam, or 
that any subsequent sin of fallen angels, or men, was occasion- 
ed by ignorance, or caused ignorance, i. e. necessarily and im- 
mediately. 

No mortal knows what the soul is ; no mortal can say that a 
sinful act of the will instantly detracts, or cuts off, a single ray of 
light from the understanding, or renders the understanding, at 
the next moment, feebler in its perceptive, retentive, reminiscent 
or conceptive powers. I speak now of the light of reason and 
experience merely. I can readily [conceive, and shall present- 
ly show, how a simple state may draw after it a state of igno- 
rance, but this is voluntarily done, and is wholly adventitious to 
a sinful state. 

Experience daily shows us, that a local disease in the body, 
by the force of corporeal sympathies and connexions, may cause 
a morbid diathesis through the system ; thus, a slight puncture 
in the foot may bring on all the horrible train of tetanic symp- 
toms. But who can tell me, by the light of reason and philo- 
sophy, or by any other light, in what incorporeal essence the va- 
rious faculties of the soul inhere, so connected by a common 
sensorium, that when one becomes diseased, all the rest are ne- 


329 


cessarily and essentially impaired ? If we have such a philoso- 
pher amongst us, I could wish he would come out and publish 
his knowledge for the benefit of mankind. 

Sin neither originated in a mistake, nor does it proceed on 
that footing. The most sinful being in the universe, is, perhaps, 
inferior in knowledge to no creature, and, in fact, the sin of our 
first parents is rather represented as an increase, than a diminu- 
tion of knowledge.* Sin against God does by no means con- 
sist in hating a mistaken notion of God, but in hating the true 
God ; and experience will not show that the most wieked men 
have generally been the most ignorant. 

The great point I would lay down, and endeavor to establish > 
is, that neither reason nor experience has given us any know- 
ledge of the nature and properties of the soul, whereby we can 
certainly conclude, that the immediate and necessary effect of 
sin on the soul is to diminish the stock of knowledge already 
acquired, or to enfeeble the power of acquiring any further 
knowledge, such as the soul may wish and seek to acquire. 

As to reason alone, aided by all its most diligent researches 
into the nature and properties of the soul, it wholly fails in this 
inquiry, and cannot afford one ray of evidence that the intellect 
of a wicked man or angel, is less acute or powerful in discover- 
ing facts, or in making comparisons or deductions, than that of 
a holy man or angel. A similar result is obtained by resorting 
to all that experience can afford on this subject. Indeed, ex- 
perience is as lame as reason ; the one being ignorant of what 
the soul is, as to its substance and structure, if those terms are 
applicable to a purely spiritual being and the other being un- 
furnished with data from whence a fair comparison can be made. 

To institute a comparison between the knowledge and acqui- 
sition of holy and sinful angels, would be an attempt to judge ot 
things beyond our sphere of knowledge. Had there been two 
human pairs created instead of one — had one of them remained 
holy, and produced a race of holy and perfect people, and could 
we have had access to. both races, we might then have made 
some comparisons useful to this inquiry. But among the de- 

* And the Lord God said, behold ! the man is become as one of us, to 
know good and evil. Gen. iii. 22. 

28 .* 


330 


scendants of one fallen race, we discover no means of making 
such a comparison just or certain. Pious or holy men discover 
no more strength of intellect than wicked men. It will be rea- 
dily granted that they have more wisdom ; but wisdom embraces 
more than mere intellect, and cannot be separated from moral 
virtue or holiness. 

The understanding may be called the eye of the soul, as it is 
the perceiving faculty. Now, it is evident, that sin injures 
many of the corporeal faculties. Indeed, the whole province of 
the passions and appetites, to say the least, as truly belong to 
the body as to the mind. But they are deeply injured by sin. 
In fine, those faculties of the body, which are more immediate- 
ly connected with, and adapted to, the will or moral powers of 
the soul, are all injured by sin, are rendered exorbitant, corrupt, 
and perverse. But is a man’s eyesight or hearing injured ? 
Does not a wicked man see with the bodily eye as sharply as a 
good man ? Does he not hear as well ? Is he not as good a 
judge of music or painting as a good man ? Is it probable that 
Enoch or Elijah, who attained to immortality, without tasting 
death, or that Jeremiah or St. John, who were sanctified from 
the womb, had better eyesight or hearing, or, in short, had 
more strength and acuteness of intellect, than Socrates or Aris- 
totle ? 

What man’s intellectual powers might have been had he 
never fallen ; how he would have progressed in knowledge 
and intellectual capacity, furnishes, I am aware, a fine field for 
the play of the imagination, and for the looser powers of decla- 
mation, and I have often heard it dwelt upon with beautiful 
flowers and fine flourishes. And all these things might have 
been true, from circumstances wholly adventitious to the pre- 
sent argument. “ Had man not fallen,” says the devout Fla- 
vel, “ all truths would have been obvious to his view, in their 
comely order and ravishing beauty.” And are they not now, 
with an order as comely, and a beauty as ravishing, to every 
one, who fdoes not voluntarily shut his eyes upon them ? To 
shut the eye, Reader, is a very different affair from a want of 
eyesight ; so, voluntary ignorance is no certain proof of weak- 
ness of intellect, but rather of moral depravity. 


331 


Bat these metaphysicians have an easy method of confuting 
the foregoing remarks. They say, wicked men have know- 
ledge and understanding in “naturals as they are pleased to 
phrase it, but not in spirituals. And the ground they take, here, 
unites two qualities seemingly of an opposite nature : extreme 
absurdity, and great adaptedness to the prejudices of weak 
minds ; and these qualities are not unfrequently observed to 
meet in the same opinions.* 

I should reserve the consideration of this opinion till we come 
to examine the light of scripture on this subject, but that it 
seems necessarily connected with some observations which 

* Dr. M’Leod, in a volume of Sermons just published, (Serm. p. 4. 122.) 
remarks, “ The human mind is capable of perceiving the force of a syllogism, 
or the truth of a mathematical proposition ; but is devoid of spiritual discri- 
mination.” To prove this, he quotes the following scripture: “For what 
man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? 
even so, the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit of God.” 

The text he quotes, no doubt, has an important meaning, and is true — but 
nothing to his purpose. The Doctor’s notion of spiritual illumination, spirit- 
ual understanding, spiritual knowledge, and twenty other spirituals, may be 
said to form the prominent trait in the scheme of godliness laid down in these 
sermons. It is set up as]a main pillar, and, I fear, the parts of the structure 
that rest upon it are but ill supported. By classing it with a syllogism and a 
mathematical proposition, I presume the Doctor will not complain that in- 
justice is done him, by saying that he alludes wholly to the intellect or under- 
standing. Now, admitting that spiritual illumination relates merely to the 
intellect, and has concern with truth and matters of fact, I would 
earnestly intreat him to inform the public of one truth, or matter of fact, con- 
tained in all religion, which the “ human mind,” as such, without any refer- 
ence to moral character, cannot understand, cseteris paribus, as well as it can 
a syllogism or mathematical proposition. But, says the objector, “ these are 
speculative truths.” What then? The most perfect knowledge cannot go 
beyond a rational and full conviction of a truth. People lose themselves in 
the fogs of mysticism, and they should read the story of Poole’s fiery dragon. 
“ But the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God,” says the 
Doctor. Surely not, I reply, till such time as God makes them known ; 
which he has most abundantly done. The will of God, I suppose, is one of the 
things, nay, comprehends many of the things, of God. But who were those 
that knew their master’s will and did it not, who were to be beaten with 
many stripes? —Who was it, that when they knew God, glorified him not as 
God ? Spiritual illumination, understanding, knowledge, discernment, &c. 
reader, has some concern with the beauty of truth ; but to see beauty is to 
LOVE, 


332 

must be subjoined to this head. To this opinion of theirs I 
reply, 

1. What they or others can mean by knowledge of “ spirit- 
uals ,” or of spiritual things, has no conexion with a man’s in- 
tellectual capacity, strength of understanding, or, in short, know- 
ledge, according to the true import of that word ; and, of course, 
forms no part of the inquiry, whether the understanding is as 
much depraved as the will. They admit the will is totally de- 
praved, i. e. wholly sinful. Now, if the understanding is, in its 
kind, as much depraved as the will, then it must be totally dark. 
All knowledge must be extinguished, for ever ; as well as all 
power, ever more, to acquire knowledge. I say again, all 
knowledge, absolutely, must be put out, like a burning coal 
dropped into a river, from which, in an instant, every spark of 
light and heat is excluded. The entire intellect must be de- 
stroyed. For they must be made to see that their idle distinc- 
tion, between natural and spiritual knowledge, will not be able 
to save them in this extremity. For they admit the will to be 
entirely depraved, and this depravity extends as much into what 
they call naturals as spirituals. The wickedness of the human 
will is not limited to spiritual things. It is depraved in all its 
volitions — in all its exercises. “The imagination of man’s 
heart is only evil, and that continually.” “ There is none that 
doeth good, no, not one. They are together become unprofit- 
able ; their throat is an open sepulchre, their feet are swift to 
shed blood ; destruction and misery are in their way ; the way 
of peace have they not known ; there is no fear of God before 
their eyes.” 

Such is the sinner’s depravity of heart or will, and it is indeed 
total, because excluded from no volition, act, or intention. Now, 
if his understanding, according to its kind and nature, is as to- 
tally depraved as the will, it must certainly extend to every 
perception — there can nothing be left of it : it must be extinct. 
For as I have shown, depravity of understanding can oonsist in 
nothing but ignorance and weakness ; and, while any thing is 
left, it cannot be totally depraved. The depravity of the will 
is perversion; but that of the understanding, from its nature. 


333 


and kind, must be privation ; and if both are total, the conse- 
quence I state must follow. 

2. As we discover nothing by reason or experience which 
proves that depravity of will is necessarily connected with de- 
pravity of understanding, as all the advantage gained here is 
from the sole argument, termed petitio principii , so, a much 
more important question is begged in setting up the distinction 
between natural and spiritual things, or natural and spiritual 
knowledge. There is, perhaps, not a more fruitful source of 
error than this distinction, as set up and applied, by them, to 
religious doctrine. 

There is, indeed, such a thing as spiritual knowledge or un- 
derstanding, which, I shall hereafter show, relates principally, if 
not wholly, to the heart, or the moral powers of the soul ; 
which goes into the nature of true holiness, and of which wick- 
ed men are incapable. But we have no concern with that 
kind of knowledge in an inquiry whether the understanding is 
depraved. 

God’s kingdom is made up of spiritual beings ; that is, of 
pure spirits, such as God himself, and angels ; of beings which 
are mixed and composed of matter and spirit ; and such are 
mankind — of animals, vegetables, and inorganic matter. These 
various modes of being together with their characters, spheres 
of action, properties, affections, and offices, are the proper sub- 
jects of knowledge. Now, nothing can be more evident than 
that a wicked creature, whose will is totally depraved, is as 
truly susceptible of the knowledge of these various orders of 
being, of their characters and attributes, as a holy creature. I 
think nothing but incorrigible ignorance, or incurable prejudice, 
will undertake to deny this. A wicked, depraved creature can, 
beyond all question, form as correct a notion of any one being 
that exists, as a holy creature can, provided he be furnished with 
the means of information. 

There are immaterial beings, and such are the supreme be- 
ing himself, as well as the various orders of angels: we our- 
selves have an immaterial, or incorporeal part, called the soul, 
which part is neither visible, audible, nor tangible, to the bodily 
organs, and is immortal. But these truths are as justly appre- 


384 


hended by bad men, as good. God is infinite, eternal, omnipre- 
sent, omnipotent, and immutable. He is the sole creator and 
governor of all creatures ; rational creatures are accountable to 
him for their conduct, as to their supreme moral ruler and 
universal father. They are all governed by one law — the ge- 
neral and grand obligation of which is supreme love to God, 
and perfect obedience to all his requirements. But there is 
nothing in all this which wicked men and devils may not, and 
do not, as truly understand, as good men and holy angels. 

The nature and obligations of the law of God are as truly un- 
derstood by wicked men as good men. There is nothing in 
the guilt of sin, the nature of holiness, the notion and necessity 
of pardon, which is unintelligible to the depraved heart ; and, 
in a word, the government God exercises over his creatures, 
in all its parts, is as easily and truly understood as the govern- 
ment of an earthly monarch, and as much more so as the di- 
vine laws are more clear and simple, more evidently just and 
excellent, than human laws, with this only difference, that the 
good man loves, and the wicked man hates them. 

Furthermore, the scheme of salvation, by Christ, is no less 
plainly set forth, and clearly understood, by sinful creatures, 
than the other parts of the divine dispensations. The sinner as 
truly and justly feels himself condemned by the divine, as by 
human laws. The nature and force of conviction are often equal- 
ly plain, and far stronger in the latter, than in the former case ; 
and the whole character and work of Christ, his power and wil- 
lingness to save the sinner ; the duties he enjoins as essential to 
discipleship, and incitements he offers as powerful motives of ac- 
tion, are all perfectly clear to every apprehension, as I trust I 
shall soon show, under its proper head. But at present I say, 
that, as to every purpose of intellect, knowledge, reason, under- 
standing, these subjects are as plain as any other subjects, in pro- 
portion to the intelligence afforded concerning them, and that is 
abundant ; plain as the arts and sciences, as history, geography, 
laws, or manners. 

There are certainly mysterious points in the great doctrines 
of revelation, as there are, at least, as many in natural religion, 
and even in nature itself. But these are not mysterious to 


335 


wicked men, as such, speculatively considered. They are 
equally so to good men, saving what results from greater atten- 
tion ; and it is beyond all doubt, a fact, that many a wicked, 
unregenerate man, has a far more correct knowledge of the 
great doctrines of revelation, than some good and very pious 
Christians have. As far as the bare intellect is concerned, • 
they are far sounder in the faith, in the range of knowledge, 
common to both ; besides that, they have ten, perhaps a hun- 
dred times the range, or extent of knowledge, in the whole 
plan of truth. And the spiritual discernment of a Christian is 
his perception of the loveliness of truth, and the God of truth, 
in which he differs from the sinner. 

Seldom did the grand adversary of God and man ever lay 
a deeper snare for the feet of the unwary, than is perceivable 
in this most absurd and insidious error. The term spiritual , 
misunderstood, and misapplied, is the bait or lure which leads * 
thousands of simple souls after an ignis fatuus into total dark- 
ness. The supporters of this distinction must take one of the 
two following grounds : either, 

A Christian must needs have two intellects, and two kinds of 
knowledge, a natural and a spiritual. The natural, or unrenew- 
ed man, they say, has no spiritual knowledge ; of course, his 
spiritual intellect is totally dark ; and this lays the foundation of 
an inability to come to Christ, independent of his will. Or, 

2. The soul having but one intellect or understanding, must, 
nevertheless, be capable of two kinds of knowledge, viz. natu- 
ral and spiritual, and the latter must be wholly destroyed by 
sin, or else it cannot be equally depraved with the will. If the 
understanding retains the least degree of spiritual knowledge, 
it cannot be totally depraved, and their scheme is overthrown. 

But, reader, what matchless and incredible absurdity meets 
the eye, and shocks the common sense, of every miiid in this 
scheme. And this rises obviously and wholly from the loose- 
ness of their metaphysical reasoning. 

Spiritual knowledge, or understanding, can man but one of 
two things. Either, 

1. The knowledge, or understanding which any rational 
mind may have about spiritual beings. For example, whoever 


336 


knows there is a God, that his perfections are infinite, eternal, 
and immutable ; that there is a heaven and a hell — a future 
state ; that the soul is immortal ; that there are good and bad 
angels ; that God governs creatures by a moral law, &c. has 
knowledge, or understanding, of spiritual things, and, of course, 
has spiritual knowledge. Or, 

2. Which is the common scripture use of the phrase, a heart 
and disposition attached to spiritual things ; in a word, love to 
spiritual objects, or holy love. But the want of this is the very 
essence of moral depravity — is sin in itself, and bears no re- 
lation to depravity of understanding, or relevancy to this argu- 
ment. 

As far as mere intellect is concerned, the understanding is 
certainly less depraved than the will, and it will be no easy 
matter to prove that it is depraved at all, or, in any degree, as 
an immediate and necessary consequence, or concomitant, of 
depravity of will. And as to two kinds of knowledge, as re- 
lates to the intellect alone, nothing can be more absurd than 
the supposition. There is nothing in sin which impairs the sin- 
ner’s knowledge of spiritual beings, of his own duty and obli- 
gations, or of his guilt and danger. And this, I trust, will ap- 
pear to be the light of the sacred scriptures on this subject. 
Nevertheless, it is proper here to observe, 

3. Sin may be, and is, remotely and consequentially, the 
cause of much ignorance, not only of Godj and divine things, 
but of all branches of human knowledge. But this, as I said 
above, is adventitious to the nature of sin, and its immediate 
and genuine effect on the mind. The degeneracy of the hu- 
man race into a state of extreme ignorance, in consequence of 
sin, is no certain proof that intelligent creatures, placed in other 
circumstances, would become ignorant, or would not, in fact, 
increase in knowledge. It is certain that many wicked men 
have made great progress in knowledge, not only in arts and 
sciences, but in the doctrines of religion. Yet it would be rea- 
sonable to suppose, that depraved and sinful beings would take 
little satisfaction in meditating in religious [truth, which con- 
demned their conduct, or endeavouring to improve their know- 
ledge of God, whom they hated. It might be presumed that 


337 


they would “ not like to retain God in their knowledge.” And 
they accordingly say in their hearts, “ Depart from us, 0 Lord, 
for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” 

It will be readily granted that the extreme ignorance of sa- 
vage nations has been caused by sin ; or, perhaps, more properly 
speaking, that their moral depravity has been the cause of their 
not rising from a savage into a civilized state. But it would be 
easy to show, by the most copious and minute details of argu- 
ment, that the ignorance which sin occasions is a voluntary ig- 
norance ; that sin depraves the understanding, by shutting the eye 
of the soul, that is, withdrawing its attention from the most 
important objects, thence inducing a voluntary or wilful blind- 
ness, and not by producing a physical effect on the understanding, 
causing an unavoidable, a necessary ignorance, which, whether 
the sinner will or not, will prevent him from coming to the saving 
knowledge of truth. 

4. It will be readily perceived that the loss of external and 
adventitious advantages to gain knowledge, whether greater or 
less, occasioned by the fall of man, cannot be taken into the 
number of the arguments in support of the depravity of the un- 
derstanding. The certainty that a ship cannot sail where there 
is no water, is no certain proof that there is any deficiency or 
derangement of its constituent parts. We might presume, from 
the light of reason, and much more from the light of revelation, 
that if man had never fallen, his intercourse with his Maker 
would have been attended with the greatest improvements in 
knowledge and wisdom. Sin, which alienated his heart from 
God, and withdrew his attention from the glorious fountain of 
knowledge and excellence, occasioned the loss of those di- 
vine communications which would have enriched him in 
every mental and moral quality which adorn and dignify a ra- 
tional creature. 

But it must be remembered, that a similar withdraw of those 
divine communications from man, had he remained uncorrnpt- 
ed by sin, would have lessened, to an amazing degree, the re- 
sources of his improvement; and probably even the strength 
and acuteness of his intellect. But when we undertake to ex- 
amine the goodness of an organ, of an eye, for instance, we do 
29 


S38 


not put it in a dungeon — we do not withdraw from it the ob- 
jects of vision — we do not induce the person to whom it be- 
longs to shut it from the light. How absurd would it be for a man 
to shut up his eyes, and then say, “ alas ! what shall I do ? my 
eyesight is totally depraved — I cannot see !” And this is substan- 
tially the case with a sinner. 

5. It is not to be understood, from the foregoing observations, 
that I affirm that sin may not produce an immediate, and even a 
physical effect on the human intellect, impairing its power, acute- 
ness, and general usefulness. All that I contend for is, that this 
is a point which we cannot determine from any knowledge we 
derive from reason and experience concerning the nature of the 
soul. We know not whether sin might not have impaired eve- 
ry intellectual function or operation. We cannot assuredly deny 
that sin has not only impaired the powers of the soul, that we 
know, and are acquainted with, but has, moreover, obstructed and 
concealed others which, in the incipient stages of being, had not 
time to be elicited, matured, and brought into action. 

The ground I take is, that reason, common observation, and 
all experience, demonstrate that men’s understandings are less 
affected by sin than their wills ; that we have no certain evi- 
dence that the intellect, considered as a faculty of the soul, is, 
in any manner, immediately, and necessarily, impaired by sin ; 
but especially, whether more or less, whether a great deal, or 
not at all affected, it is, to all intents and purposes, as sound, 
strong, and acute, in relation to one object as another; that, if 
it is less successful and correct in religious, than in worldly mat- 
ters, it is solely owing to less means of information, or less at- 
tention to the means afforded ; that the distinction of spiritual, 
from other knowledge, is wholly without foundation. 

Knowledge has to do with truth and facts, and is derived from 
various sources ; but as to its conception and mode, in the hu- 
man mind, it is one, It cannot rise higher than to a rational 
and full conviction. Whether a truth is made known to me 
by God himself by an angel, or by a man ; whether I gain it 
by intuition, deduction, sensation, or reflection, when I once, in 
fact, have it, it stands, in my mind, together with all other 
truth, on ;the same ground of intellection. 


% 


339 


This notion of the depravity of the understanding, whereby 
the whole body of religious truths and doctrines is covered 
with an inscrutable veil of mystery, is one of the boldest and 
most mischievous of Satan’s devices. Under the shameful pre- 
tence of paying a high compliment to the sacredness of truth, 
they cover it from human eyes with a cloud, not of mystery, 
but of mist, which, following their definitions, no mortal can 
understand ; and under a pretence of setting human nature 
low, they release the conscience from remorse, and a moral 
agent from his duty. 

That the spiritual discernment, or understanding of truth, re- 
lates to its moral excellence and beauty, and belongs to the 
will and affections of the soul, is evidently agreeable to the 
whole tenor of the scriptures. This I shall endeavour to show, 
in considering what light the scriptures throw on the doctrine 
of the depravity of the understanding. But this must be re- 
served to the next series. 

The intelligent and candid reader will perceive a wide dif- 
ference between him who shuts his [eyes to avoid seeing, and 
him who was born blind. The former of these cases answers 
to the conduct of men ; hence, saith the word of God, “ This is 
the condemnation that light has come into the world, and men 
have loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds are 
evil.” 


INVESTIGATOR. 


No. VI. 


Docter M’Leod’s Sermons. 


A volumn of sermons, entitled “ The Life and Power of God- 
liness,” -lately published, is before the public. The imposing 
title of this work, and the acknowledged talents of its author^ 
will procure for it a share of the public attention ; and, if jus- 


340 


tice has been done to a subject of such importance, few books 
can be deserving of a larger share. If the writer has truly in- 
formed the public what godliness is, and wherein its life and 
power consist, he has redeemed his pledge, laid down with an 
immeasurable responsibility, and, to say nothing of the reward 
of human approbation — to overlook the pleasing conscious- 
ness, the noble gratification of having edified the church of 
Christ, and presented before the wicked many of the best mo- 
tives to repentance, a far richer reward awaits his labours — the 
high and eternal approbation of the Supreme Judge of human 
actions. 

Though the task with which he charged himself can be but 
poorly performed by one who does not live the life and feel the 
power of godliness, yet I am far from making his production a 
criterion to judge of his personal piety, a topic with which nei- 
ther the critic, the theologian, nor the reviewer, has any concern ; 
and concerning which, general reputation, and the more amiable 
dictates of character, have secured to him a favourable deci- 
sion. I cannot, however, avoid the persuasion, that the choice of 
his subject was not peculiarly fortunate, nor well adapted to his 
genius and turn of mind. But of this the reader will judge for 
himself. Some men are sons of thunder, some of consolation ; 
and when a true son of thunder gets on themes of consolation, 
we may apply to him the language of Garrick, “ When Johnson 
writes tragedy, declamation roars, and passion sleeps.” 

These sermons are by no means destitute of brilliancy of ex- 
pression, and force of thought. Justice cannot deny that they 
evince marks of genius of no ordinary grade ; but I am sorry to 
be compelled to add, that here her claims of commendation 
generally end. 

Another day must determine whether it is my infelicity, or 
that of this writer, that we differ in many of the most material 
positions which he takes. If I can discover in this work any 
thing like a description of divine life, its pulsations are feeble, 
and it still wears the mortal hue. Indeed, a glance through 
the volume rather presents darkness, impotence, and confusion, 
than tC life and power f and reminds me of that strong expression 
in the liturgy, « In the midst of life, we are in de ath.” 

The Doctor, in his introductory sermon, lays before the reader 


341 


his view of what he styles “ the peculiar excellencies or 
the gospel.” These he comprises in four articles, viz. 

1. “ The Christian religion alone proposes to man friendship 
and communion with God, in a mediator ; and effects reconcilia- 
tion, by providing a Mediator perfectly qualified for the purpose.” 

2. “ Christianity is the only religion which provides perfect 
satisfaction to divine justice for all the sins of them who are 
reconciled to God.” 

3. “ Evangelical religion alone secures to man a change of 
mind, by supernatural power, from sinfulness to holiness.” 

4. “ Evangelical religion secures h for believers a title to a 
place in heaven, on account of the merits of the Redeemer.” 

I earnestly intreat the reader to resort to this book, and read 
the Doctor’s own illustration of these propositions ; and for 
the same reason I could wish this book might be generally read. 
For if there be proportion, beauty, force, and grandeur, in truth 
and godliness — if there be distortion, turpitude, obscurity, and 
confusion in error, the eye that is not covered with scales of 
blindness, will not read the book but with progressing convic- 
tion, and it will serve as a caustic to bring a callous sore to due 
sensibility. 

My comment on the four propositions will be short ; but as 
they are set up as the four cardinal points of gospel excellence, 
I cannot pass by them in silence. 

His first proposition is certainly true, upon my principles, and 
certainly false upon his ; and is a hook of error baited with truth. 

His second proposition contradicts the first ; while it ex- 
presses a truth, implies an error ; and as Christ’s satisfaction to 
justice is certainly the ground upon which the gospel “ propo- 
ses to man friendship and communion with Godf these two 
propositions present the figure of a pyramid set upon its apex 
with its base in the air ; and had it been composed of stone in- 
stead of words, the author’s head would have been in danger. 
My meaning is, that he grounds an offer of life and immortality 
to all men on a propitiation made for a part. 

His third proposition is true ; but he covers it with darkness 
in his illustration of it. He talks much about its excellent mo- 
rality; but what then? His hearers are taught to believe that 
there is no such thing as moral virtue. He says the gospel sets 
29* 


342 


before men the whole system of religious truth, but then their 
understandings are totally depraved, and they are none the bet- 
ter without supernatural illumination. He says, with great 
emphasis, that the gospel requires holiness. “ Evangelical re- 
ligion” says he, “ describes holiness in the clearest terms , re- 
quires it by the purest precepts , illustrates it by the best exam- 
ples , and urges it by the tender est motives .” A climax ! 

But, reader, does he tell you what that holiness is to which 
the gospel recovers man ? No. Does he tell you what that 
change of mind is which is effected by supernatural power ? No. 
Those topics, I must presume, were thought too mysterious for 
explanation. 

His fourtii proposition, though, in a sense, true, since Chris- 
tians are certainly saved by grace, yet, as it here stands, in the 
writer’s sense of it, and illustrated by his own remarks, I consi- 
der it as one of the most bold, arrogant, and audacious strokes 
of Antinomian pride and vanity. And I must again beg of the 
reader to examine the proofs he brings of the truth of this pro- 
position. He alleges nothing like proof — nothing in the shape 
of demonstration — not even the ghost of evidence — not even 
the abortion of an argument ; and the propositions he brings in 
its support are still more doubtful than his premises. 1 shall 
close, for the present, by applying to these sermons the words 
of Dr. Fuller, a writer recommended by the triangular divines 
of this city. (See Fuller’s life of Pierce, p. 249.) 

“ If a man, whatever be his depravity, be necessarily a free agent, and 
accountable for all his dispositions and actions ; if gospel invitations be ad- 
dressed to men, not as elect, nor as non-elect, but as sinners exposed to the 
righteous displeasure of God ; if Christ’s obedience and death rather increase 
than diminish our obligations to love God, and one another ; if faith in 
Christ be a falling in with God’s way of salvation, and unbelief a falling out 
with it ; if sanctification be a progressive work, and so essential a branch of 
our salvation as that without it no man shall see the Lord ; if the holy spirit 
instruct us in nothing by his illuminating influences but what was already re- 
vealed in the scriptures* and which we should have perceived but for that we 
loved darkness rather than light ; and if he inclines U3 to nothing but what 
was antecedently right, or to such a spirit as every intelligent creature ought, 
at all times, to have possessed,” 

then are these sermons far, very far, from being a true ex- 
hibition of the life and power of godliness, or of gospel truth. 
But they will be further considered. 


INVESTIGATOR. 


343 


PREFACE TO THE FIFTH SERIES. 


f his series will close the first part of the Triangle, a wort 
which has roused a storm of indignation and fury, whose rage ap- 
pears not yet to be wholly spent. I have been quite happy, how- 
ever, to perceive, that it has hitherto been harmless in its pro- 
gress, as it has unroofed no buildings on the land, nor unmoored 
any vessels in the harbour, though it has been attended with 
great noise, with most obstreperous clamours, some “ gnashing 
of teeth,” and terrible threats of vengeance. 

A point blank shot was some time since aimed at the Triangle, 
or rather The Investigator, but it was, perhaps, lucky for him that 
this shot was discharged, not from the Great Gun , but from a 
very little Gun, of short barrel, and wide caliber ; and it appears, 
from some oversight in loading, that the powder was so inade- 
quate to the weight of the charge, that the whole load fell on the 
ground, not many yards from the muzzle, where it still lies, and 
may be seen by those whose curiosity may prompt inspection. 
The wad smoked a little, affording a delightful fumigation for tri- 
angular noses, but soon went out. 

The general object of the Triangle has been to expose the spir- 
it of intolerance and persecution, become so conspicuous, so bold, 
and daring, in this city, for the last few years, and so insupporta- 
bly oppressive to a certain class of people. A long train of events 
speaks with a voice of thunder on this subject : A numerous and 
powerful phalanx of men have long since laid off the mask — have 
boldly avowed the purpose of restraining the opinions of the im- 
mense population of this city, to their own creed — or, shall I say, 
to their own narrow and contracted views of the great doctrines of 
religion. 

The attempts of an individual to breast the torrent of popular 
opinion are always considered by the weak and wavering as 
hopeless and useless, by the leaders and demagogues of the 
multitude, as audacious and wicked ; of course, they are seldom 
made : for some, consulting their ease and popularity, others their 
convenience and interest ; some governed by darling prejudices, 
and others, (not a few,) wrapped in the midnight gloom of 
ignorance, it is found, by designing men, but an easy task to 
lead the multitude at their will ; and the history of the church, 
in all ages, and in all its sections, affords a voluminous comment on 
this subject. But if this comment be voluminous, there is another 
not less so : the readiness with which the great body of Christians, 


344 


and all ambitious men, identify religion with their temporal 
interests, is the true source of that overbearing and furious spirit 
which has ever harassed the church, endeavouring to bear down 
all before it. It is not the solemn scenes of eternity — the glory 
of the Almighty God — the interests of the Redeemer’s kingdom 
— the salvation of immortal souls — the terrors of the coming 
judgment — the pure and supreme joys of an eternal heaven — nor 
the endless torments of hell, which form any part of the motives 
of their conduct, who would square down men’s consciences to 
their particular views of truth. No ! no ! far other motives are 
at bottom ; it is the base ambition of mounting on the empty 
blast of Fame — the rage after a poor and short-lived influence 
over men — the desire to be esteemed leaders and rulers over a 
large number of wretched beings, who are bom for the awful 
destinies of eternity. 

Were the love and fear of God the predominating principle of 
their hearts, all these angry feelings would melt away ; their 
weapons would fall from their nerveless hands, and they would 
find much more cause to quarrel with themselves, than with 
their neighbours ; and their resentment at those who differed from 
them, would suddenly change into apprehension and alarm for 
their own future prospects. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


THE TRIANGLE. 


FIFTH SERIES. 


No. I. 

Depravity of Understanding considered , and concluded from 
the Fourth Series. 


Part II. 


Video mellora, proboque ; deteriora sequor. — Seneca. 

The holy scriptures, in relation to the impediments in the 
sinner’s salvation, are far from placing the will and the under- 
standing on the same footing. They nowhere represent the under- 
standing as being as depraved as the heart or will, which I here 
use as synonymous terms, or as being the cause of the sinner’s 
destruction. Directly the reverse of this breathes in every sen- 
timent, and speaks in every page of the sacred volume. 

While the depravity of the heart is universally set up as the 
first, the last, and the only cause of the sinner’s ruin, the under- 
standing, whether more or less enlightened, is declared to have 
sufficient light to leave the sinner “without excuse,” and to 
make his destruction chargeable alone to his free and voluntary 
choice. 

Were not the motive but too well known ; were not this sen- 
timent identified as an integral part of a hideous and loathsome 
scheme of antinomian tenets, where at every step the princi- 
ples of eternal justice are sacrificed to the monstrous brood en- 
gendered by darkness and superstition, where benevolence and 
virtue are immolated at the shrine of selfishness, and where defor- 


346 


mity itself is the only rule of proportion, it would seem surprising, 
that any one who had read the bible could pretend to draw, 
from that exhaustless storehouse of truth, a doctrine so oppo- 
site to the blazing light of experience, to the steady, constant, 
and universal voice of reason, and to the innumerable and ex- 
press declarations of that sacred book. 

There is, probably, not a sentiment which ever engaged the 
attention of the human mind, in which all mankind, in all ages 
and nations, are more unanimous, than that men know better than 
they do, A savage, a philosopher, a heathen, a Christian, a jew, 
a mahometan, will readily grant it, and whoever is a spectator 
of human actions, cannot fail to know it. Ignorant as a man is, 
or can be, his passions and inclinations will overleap the bounds 
of his reason, and his own conscience will directly tell him so, 
and reprove him. Nor was ever a code of morality taught on 
earth which so completely imbibed the inclinations of the 
heart, as to annihilate the sphere of conscience, and supervene 
all the dictates of reason. 

The scriptures teach that where th ere is great light, or know- 
ledge of duty, that there the guilt of disobedience is great, and 
so, in general, they apportion the degree of guilt to that of 
knowledge. 

Judge Blackstone somewhere remarks, that a man, ignorant 
of human laws, who falls into transgression, may, through the 
imperfection of human administration, be holden to the legal 
penalty, but, nevertheless, cannot be, in the eye of society, or 
even of the law itself, impeached of moral or political turpi- 
tude, unless the transgression be of a nature which the univer- 
sal laws of society forbid ; which qualification supposes that 
he might have known better. 

If a total ignorance of every thing whatever, amounting to 
the entire privation of reason, would exclude all accountable- 
ness, as is supposed to be the case with idiots and maniacs, or 
with beasts and incogitative machines, then a total ignorance of 
any one thing places a man, in relation to that thing, as though 
it did not exist. 

I am fully aware of the famous, but senseless, dispute which is 
raised here. The objector says, “ But supposing a man has de- 


347 


stroyed his own knowledge, or caused his own ignorance, what 
then ?” And this same cavil is introduced on the subject of ina- 
bility, and indeed, is a part of it ; for they say, the sinner has 
destroyed his own ability — therefore, since he did it himself, he 
is still held to perform. 

There is not room to enter into this subtle point of metaphy- 
sics here. Nor is it of much importance, since both the premi- 
ses and the conclusion of the argument, as they use it, are false ; 
for in the first place, sinners neither do, nor can, destroy their 
ability to obey God, further than consists in depravation of will ; 
and, in the second place, if they could, the conclusion they draw 
would not certainly follow. 

Supposing a man commits suicide, hangs himself, and goes 
out of the world, is he still under obligation to live with his fa- 
mily and carry on his business ? — A man cuts off his legs, is he 
after that under obligation to run a race ? — After a man has put 
out his own eyes, does he commit sin for neglecting to perform 
the duties which require eyesight l 

This subject requires careful reflection ; and I think but little 
penetration is sufficient to enable any man to perceive that one 
natural impossibility as effectually bars obligation as another. 
If I am the only pilot of a vessel, through a dangerous naviga- 
tion, the man who destroys my eyesight, knowing the duty in- 
cumbent on me, is accountable for all the consequences that 
will follow ; and it does not vary the case whether that act is 
done by me or another man. Whoever in that case puts out 
my eyes, commits no sin for not navigating the vessel, for he 
knows nothing of navigation. His sin consists in destroying 
the power to navigate the vessel, and incurring the evils of ship- 
wreck ; and the same will be my sin for the same reason, and 
no other ; for after my eyes are out, I am no more able to do 
it than he is. 

The Divine government is not so weak, capricious, or impro- 
vident, as to involve itself in the necessity of losing its dignity, 
or exacting impossibilities. The sinner who may in any man- 
ner destroy his own means or faculties of doing his duty in fu- 
ture is, no doubt, guilty of a great crime, but his crime is the 
same as would be the crime of another man, who h*rt 


348 

that work for him, under equal advantages of knowing the con- 
sequences. 

As the performance of an act, without intention, is no virtue, 
being merely the operation of machinery, so the omission of an 
act is no crime where there is no correspondent intention, and, 
above all, where there is no capacity, even if there were inten- 
tion ; otherwise a mountain might be blamed for not performing 
the duties of a rational being. 

As for a man who shall destroy irrevocably his own faculties 
to do a duty, human laws will decree such amercement as may 
be within the scope of their policy, and the Divine government, 
which alone weighs actions in all their relations and consequen- 
ces, will inflict such punishment as infinite goodness shall ap- 
prove. But neither Divine nor human laws will regard this 
man in the same light they do another man, who, with full pow- 
ers, and faculties unimpaired, intentionally refuses, from day 
to day, to do his duty. Since the one who has disqualified 
himself, and destroyed his own powers, may, perhaps, the next 
hour after this outrage committed on himself, most deeply re- 
pent of his conduct, and regret what he has done ; and this re- 
pentance, though surely it cannot shield him from the legal con- 
sequences, yet will not fail to place his character in a very dif- 
ferent light, before any tribunal, from that of the wilful, deter- 
mined aggressor, and under an economy of grace might pro- 
cure his pardon: but were there no grace — if eternal and in- 
flexible justice governed all worlds — still these two characters 
must appear widely different. 

But all this, reader, is hypothetical reasoning of the highest 
class. God has taken care, in the formation of rational immor- 
tal intelligences, that their general capacity for duty and obedience 
shall not rest on such frail, baseless foundations, as to perish 
with the first acts of disobedience. Never was a more absurd or 
dangerous opinion advanced, than that every rebel against God 
completely and for ever incapacitates himself to do his duty, ei- 
ther by destroying his understanding, or by any other means. 

On this subject, I beg leave to draw the reader’s attention to 
the opinions of two most eminent and learned men ; and, by the 
by, from the same source he may also see, with how much 


349 


want of candour, or of knowledge, many rashly reject the dis- 
tinction between natural and moral inability as a new notion 
started in New England. 

“ Moral incapacity,” says Dr. Howe, (Blessedness of the 
Righteous, p. 231,) “ is also in some sense truly natural, that is, 
in the same sense wherein we are said to be children of wrath, 
by nature ; therefore, human nature must be said to be created 
by God, and as propagated by man. In the former sense, as 
God is the author of it, it is taken in this distinction of natural 
and moral impotency ; which needs not further explication : — 
yet you may take this account of it from Dr. Twisse.”* The in- 
ability of doing what is pleasing and acceptable to God is not an 
impotence of nature, but of morals ; for, by means of original 
sin, no faculty is wanting to us : and to this effect saith Augus- 
tine, “ Sin hath taken from no one the faculty of knowing the 
truth ; the power yet remains, by which we can do whatever 
we will ; or, if you please, we say that the natural power of act- 
ing, according to their discretion, is given to all men, but not 
the moral.” 

It appears from the quotations, that the distinction of moral 
inability or impotency, was thought of before the days of Hop- 
kins, and was taught even by Dr. Twisse, who, perhaps, the 
reader may not know, till he is informed, was Prolocutor to 
our famous Assembly of divines, and was, perhaps, the most 
distinguished man in that Assembly. And as for Augustine, he 
is the man above all others, who, among the ancient fathers 
of the church, the triangular men pretend to claim. But enough 
of this. 

Neither is the question, whether a [total extinction of the 
knowledge of duty would totally cancel all obligation, much less 
hypothetical than the former. We do not know that such a 
case, or that such a class of men, possessing the use of their 
reason and faculties, ever existed in the world. We know, 

* Impotentia faciendi, quod Deo gratum est et acceptum, non est impo- 
tentia naturae, sed morum. Nulia etenim nobis deest facultas natura per pec- 
catum originate ; juxta illud Augustina ; Nulli agnoscendi veritatis abstulit 
facultatem. Vind. L. Sect. 6. Naturalem potentiana quidlibet agendi pro- 
arbitrio ipsorum dieimus adomnes transmitti, non autem potentiam moralem 
30 


350 


from the light of sacred history, that the ancient heathen nations 
were extremely ignorant of God and the true religion : we also 
know, that, speaking of them, the apostle Paul declares, “ The 
times of this ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all 
men every where to repent.” By this mode of expression we 
are given to understand, that God beheld the failings, supersti- 
tions, and corruptions of their worship, with an eye less scrutiniz- 
ing and severe, from the consideration of their very great igno- 
rance. 

In considering this point, however, two important cautions 
are necessary. First, that we do not overrate the ignorance of 
the heathen, as to its extent, and, Secondly , that we distinguish 
between that part of it which is wilful, and that which is neces- 
sary or unavoidable. 

Many heathen nations have in all ages been very ignorant. 
Butjthe Lord saith not as man saith ; and merely their want of 
language, arts, and manners, deprives him not of the proper cri- 
terion of judging their hearts. St. Paul does not allow that the 
heathen are excluded from all possible means of knowing the 
true God : since the works of nature declare the invisible pow- 
er and Godhead ; and those who have not the law, are a law to 
themselves, their consciences, in the mean time, accusing or 
excusing them, so, as he expressly asserts, that they are with- 
out excuse, for not loving and obeying God, according to the 
light they have. 

I wish not to express too much confidence with regard to the 
state of the heathen, since the spirit of truth has not been pleas- 
ed to speak largely and particularly of their state ; but one 
thing is certain, the great contempt in which their morals and 
characters are held, by Christian nations, generally flows from 
prejudice, partiality, and unfair comparisons. Among the low- 
er classes of people in all great cities on the globe, nearly the 
same vices prevail, and notwithstanding the difference of laws 
and regulations, it is melancholy to reflect how little advantage 
those called Christian, hold over others in point of morality. 
And it is still more remarkable, that in the interior regions of 
the great nations of Asia and Africa — in the huts and cabins 
; of the shepherd, tradesman, and farmer, where they are suffi- 


35 1 


ciently distant from the corrupting influence of cities, armies, 
wars, and revolutions, if there be less of positive virtue, there is 
less surely of vice. There is nothing to compare with that im- 
mense, enormous front of moral depravity, which lifts its head 
above the mass of the people, and like a dreadful tyrant of un- 
limited prerogative, sways its black, and filthy^ sceptre ; which 
thunders in blasphemous profanity ; winds its serpentine course 
through a labyrinth of dishonesty — spurns all religion, although, 
perhaps, professing the Christian. 

Noah and his sons taught the true religion, and from this and 
subsequent sources it is owing that all nations admit the being 
of God, a superintending providence, and a future state of re- 
wards and punishments. Beside what might descend from 
these very ancient sources, there is another mode by which 
heathen nations may receive Divine instruction. The light of 
reason and conscience, furnished with ample instructions from 
the volume of nature, is bestowed on every human mind. — 
These lights, indeed, without any previous knowledge, and un- 
der the strong influence of native depravity, might never enable 
the human mind to discover the being and perfections of God. 
But when once that grand idea is awakened ; when once a rea- 
sonable creature is informed there is a God, the creator of all 
things — that the soul is immortal — that there is another and far 
more important state of being than this life, it can nevei be forgot- 
ten ; and I scarcely need add, that the appearance of the visible 
world, the grand and glorious revolutions of the heavenly bodies, 
the regular change of seasons, all the laws of the animal, vegeta- 
ble, and material kingdoms, serve eminently to invigorate, enforce, 
and illustrate these great truths. 

The ignorance of the heathen is truly deplorable, even that 
part of it which is inevitable, and wholly beyond his power to 
remove. But there is another part of his ignorance, which is 
wilful, and far more strongly connected with his guilt and danger. 
If the improvement of a privilege be not certainly connected with 
its increase, and with other privileges, its misimprovement and 
abuse will generally be connected with its loss, and certainly with 
guilt in proportion to its magnitude. 

There is^nothing impossible in the supposition that a heathen 


i 


352 


may look abroad upon the immense universe and say, “ There 
is a God, and I am his creature. Such being his kingdom, 
how glorious and excellent must he be ?” Who can certainly say 
what would be the happy consequence if a heathen should fol- 
low the best light he has ? Should indeed obey the law that is 
within him? Should follow such light as the Father of lights af- 
forded ? Is there a certainty that no ray from the Sun of right- 
eousness would ever reach him? The almighty Ruler of all 
worlds, in whose hand are the destinies of all creatures, pays little 
regard to those dark notions of order and consistency by which 
our feeble minds would seem sometimes to affect to fetter his ope- 
rations. He certainly regards his own laws, but we certainly do 
not comprehend the extent of their operations. 

In every page of the sacred volume, the guilt of sinners is 
predicated upon the violation of the light, and abuse of the ad- 
vantages they have. Of course, the guilt of different nations 
is represented as being vastly different ; yet all as guilty, be- 
cause all have certain advantages. All have, at least, one cer- 
tain advantage : They dwell in God’s kingdom ; they live, and 
move, and have their being in God : He is not very far from 
every one of them. Since all power in heaven and earth is 
given to Christ; since there is subjected to him not only the 
present world, but that which is to come, these benighted hea- 
then dwell under his government, and he will be their final judge. 
And as God has given him the heathen for his inheritance, and 
the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, it cannot be 
doubted that were the light of the gospel to reach the heathen, or 
any heathen nation, they might become the subjects of the Re- 
deemer’s grace. 

But who shall presume to limit the sphere enlightened by 
the beams of the Sun of righteousness ? Is he not “ the true 
light that lighteneth every man that cometh into the world This 
light, as propagated by different means, and in various ways, shines 
with unequal degrees of strength and steadiness ; but who that 
knows the power and providence, the grace and mercy of God, 
can assuredly say that an offer of salvation does not reach eve- 
ry sinner ? Who can be assured that, at the day of judgment, 
every condemned sinner will not be made clearly ^to see, that 


353 


his condemnation, so far from arising from the inevitable thraldom 
of his nature, from which no relief had ever been brought within 
his reach, from a depravity of his understanding, which rendered 
his exclusion from life certain, whether he would or not, arose 
from his wilful blindness, his perverseness, and abuse of such pri- 
vileges as he had been favoured with. 

The condemnation of those who perish under the light of the 
gospel, will certainly issue upon the charge of their rejecting sal- 
vation ; and as a propitiation is certainly made for the sins of the 
whole world, (1 John ii. 2.) I must leave the reader to fix in his 
own mind the import of the declaration, John i. 9. “ That was 
the true light which lighteneth every man that cometh into the 
world” observing that, in the very next verse, the import of the 
term would is unequivocally established ; for he observes, “ He 
was in the world, and the world was made by him.” 

Our Saviour declares, that the people of Sodom and Gomor- 
rah, of Nineveh, of Tyre, and Sidon, shall be found less guilty, 
and shall be less severely punished, in the day of judgment, than 
those people who heard him preach, and enjoyed, and rejected, 
the light of the gospel, because their privileges were less. Yet 
the people of Sodom and Gomorrah, of Nineveh, of Tyre, and 
Sidon, and of all those countries, probably had much greater 
advantages than we readily imagine ; and, indeed, the advantages 
of all heathen, in all situations whatever, are somewhat greater 
than many are willing to admit, and are such as will subject them 
to the charge of wilful blindness. Let us hear, on this subject, 
the reasonings of St. Paul, Rom. i. 18. “ For the wrath of God is 
revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness 
of men , who hold the truth in unrighteousness , because that which 
may be known of God , is manifest in them ; for god hath 
showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from 
the creation of the world are clearly seen , being understood by the 
things that are made , even his eternal power and Godhead; so 
that they are without excuse 

This declaration amounts to this, that God is angry at the 
wickedness of the heathen, because he has given them sufficient 
light to know their general duty and obligations ; “ Because ,” 
says he, “ that which may be known of God is manifest in them y 
30* 


354 


for God hath showed it unto them And he explains in what 
way ; for he says, “ The invisible things of him , from the crea- 
tion of the world , are clearly seen , being understood by the things 
that are made , even his eternal power and Godhead ; so that they 
are without excuse .” 

But he proceeds : “ Because that when they knew God , they 
glorified him not as God , neither were thankful , but became vain 
in their imaginations , their foolish heart being darkened ; pro- 
fessing themselves to be wise , they became fools , and changed the 
glory of the incorruptible God into an image,” Spc, After many 
observations upon their obstinacy and wilful blindness, he comes 
at length to say, “ And even as they did not like to retain God 
in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do 
those things which are not convenient.” 

Having stated the enormous wickedness to which they pro- 
ceed, he finally concludes with this extraordinary remark : 
“ Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit 
such things are worthy of death, not only do the same , but have 
pleasure in them that do them ” 

In the second chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, St. Paul 
further remarks, “ For not the hearers of the law are just before 
God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the 
Gentiles , which have not the law, do by nature the things contained 
m the law, these having not the law, are a laiu unto themselves ; 
which show the work of the law written in their hearts , their con- 
science also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile ac- 
cusing or else excusing one another.” — V. 13, 14, 15. He applies 
this reasoning in the 26th verse : “ Therefore, if the uncircumci- 

sion keep the righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumci- 
sion be counted for circumcision ? and judge thee, who by the let- 
ter and circumcision dost transgress the law ?” 

It is rare, that ignorance, with a direct and obvious allusion 
to the intellect, is charged upon the heathen, without, at the 
same time, putting it to the account of wilful blindness, or a 
voluntary withdraw of the attention from the objects of reli- 
gion. The famous passage, Ephes. iv. 18. “ Having our under- 
standing darkened,” &c. will appear in this light by considering 
its connexion, v. 17. “ This I say , therefore , and testify in the 


355 


Lord , that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk , in the 
vanity of their mind : (v. 18.) Having the understanding darken- 
ed, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance 
that is in them , because of the blindness of their hearts” 

The ignorance, or darkness of understanding, here mentioned* 
is expressly ascribed to blindness of heart as its cause: “ because 
of blindness of heart As I would presume, there can be but 
one opinion concerning the meaning of blindness of heart, this 
passage places the ignorance, here ascribed to wicked men, as 
we considered it in the former part of this essay, as among the 
consequences of sin, but probably adventitious to its nature. 

The heart is the seat of affection, of love and hatred, of sin 
and holiness : blindness of heart is that disaffection, or sinful re- 
gard, with which the sinner contemplates the Divine character, 
and the great objects of religion. In this sense, the sinful heart 
is totally blind to the beauty of God, the loveliness of Christ, 
the glory of heaven, and all the excellence of divine things. 
Therefore it is said, 1 Cor. ii. 14. “ The natural man receiveth 

not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto 
him, neither can he know them , because they are spiritually dis- 
cerned” This construction of this text is confirmed by the 
leading phrase, “ For the natural man receiveth not the things of 
the Spirit there is the defect ; he receiveth not, i. e. he rejects 
them in his heart, he hates them, because they are foolishness 
unto him. In this sense, also, the word knowledge, or the phrase 
to know , is often used in the word of God, when, should it be 
applied to the intellect, or understanding strictly, the bible 
would be cut in pieces, and be no better than a book of riddles, 
or, rather, of palpable contradictions. The phrase to know God 
and Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal, refers not to the 
knowledge of the understanding, but of the heart ; for we have 
just above heard the word of God declare, that the wicked do 
know God, and glorify him not as God : that they know their 
master's will and do it not : that they know the judgment of 
God, and that they which do such things are worthy of death, &c. 
in short, that that which may be known of God is manifest in 
them, for God hath showed it unto them ; so that they are without 
excuse , for their disobedience. 


356 


If by this notion of the enlightening influence of the divine 
spirit, it is to be understood that any thing is • revealed to the 
sinner which is not revealed in the Bible, if new truth be com- 
municated, if truth be communicated in a new form, so as to 
make different impressions on the mind, then the Bible is not the 
true revelation of God ; but, on the contrary, the absurd no- 
tions of some of the most odious fanatics which ever infested 
and corrupted the church are justified, and all confidence is 
withdrawn from the standard of eternal truth. But if it be urg- 
ed, that these enlightening influences merely aid the sinner’s 
understanding, so as to enable him to understand the truth, to 
this it is replied, the understanding needs no such aid, and the 
idea is both unreasonable and unscriptural. Truth cannot be 
presented plainer than it is in the word of God ; and the difficul- 
ty of receiving it does not lie in the intellect or understanding : 
Their most favourite passage confirms this idea, “ For the 
natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit .” They are 
foolishness to his heart ; as the fool hath said in his heart , there 
is no God. They are alone discerned by the spiritual mind, 
which may be understood, in one moment, by contrasting it 
with the carnal mind, which is declared to be enmity with 
God. Now, if the carnal mind is enmity with God, then surely 
the spiritual mind is love to God. 

I desire the reader to observe, that the terms carnal and spi- 
ritual are generally contrasted in the New Testament. “ But 
the carnal mind is enmity against God , is not subject to his law , 
neither indeed can be." What, then, is the spiritual mind ? It 
is love to God. It is subject to his law, and cannot be other- 
wise ; i. e. loves God with all the heart. Again ; “ to be carnal- 
ly minded is deaths but to be spiritually minded , is life and peace." 
But if the carnal mind is enmity against God, and to be carnal- 
ly minded is death, then we hear the apostle say, that enmity 
against God is death ; that is, not natural death surely, but spi- 
ritual death ; and when we hear the scripture speak of the sin- 
ner as dead in trespasses and in sins, we at once understand, 
that to be dead in trespasses and in sins is to be in a state of 
enmity to God. But if enmity to God is spiritual death, then 
what is love to God 1 It is spiritual life. For if the carnal mind 


357 


be enmity against God, and if to be carnally minded is death’ 
it is but to take the predicate of these two propositions, and 
make a new equation out of them, if I may so speak, and by 
the axiom that any two things, which are equal to a third, are 
equal to one another, the unknown quantity is exterminated, or 
spiritual death explained. Enmity to God, and death, are both 
predicated of, and made equal to, carnal mindedness ; consequent- 
ly death, or spiritual death, is enmity against God. But as the 
spiritual mind is contrasted with the carnal mind, or enmity to 
God, then, by an irresistable deduction, love to God, or spiri- 
tual life, must be predicated of the spiritual mind. And do we 
not hear the apostle say, “ to be spiritually minded is life and 
peace ?” 

The divine illumination for which they contend, and the 
spiritual things about which they talk, relate to the heart and 
affections, and have no concern with any conceivable depravi- 
ty of intellect, by which sinners cannot duly apprehend truth, 
whenever presented with its proper evidence. The human un- 
derstanding has three modes of apprehending truth. The first 
is by intuition. Some truths, from their very nature, are so clear 
and forcible, that the mind immediately perceives them, with- 
out reasoning or effort : such as that the whole must be greater 
than a part. The second is by deduction, and is only different 
from the first, in that it embraces several steps, or links ; for al- 
though the mind may not see intuitively the connexion of the 
two extremes of a long argument, yet it proceeds intuitively from 
step to step, and feels an equal assurance that the final conclu- 
sion rests on the certainty of intuition. The third is the receiving 
of truth,* or facts, upon proper evidence. 

But it is truly affecting to see how every province of truth is 
invaded and overrun by errors of every description. Some, 
like an army of Saracens, sweeping away every barrier, and de- 
forming alike the beauties of nature, and the glorious temple of 
religion itself: others, like the frogs of Egypt, croaking with equal 
horrors in the palace or the cottage ; and others, like the locusts, 
darkening the sun and the air, and devouring every green thing. 
Here we see men standing high in the public confidence, decla- 
ring from the sacred desk, that all religious truths are hidden 


358 


from men’s understandings ; that men can understand syllo- 
gisms, mathematical and natural truths, but the moment they 
turn their eyes towards the doctrines of religion, all is mystery — 
they understand nothing. 

There is nothing in the word of God to justify this opinion ; 
for, as I have already observed, the passages which they allege 
in vindication of it, relate wholly to the depravity of the heart, 
and to that ignorance, which blindness of heart occasions, and 
which the Scriptures constantly, and with great plainness, show 
to be a wilful blindness. 

The consequences arising from their scheme, if once fully es- 
tablished, are such as cannot be contemplated but with alarm 
and horror by those who have a proper regard for the salva- 
tion of sinners ; and with indignation and contempt by the irre- 
ligious. If men are truly condemned for Adam’s sin, without 
any consideration of their own conduct ; if an atonement is 
made but for a part of mankind, and yet, those for whom no 
atonement is made are required to believe, and condemned 
and punished for unbelief ; if, exclusive of the heart and affec- 
tions, men are so truly depraved in their understandings, 
in relation to religious truth and doctrine, that the whole Bible 
is a sealed book, of which they can have no competent under- 
standing, and yet they are required to understand that for 
which they have no capacity, are inculpated with the heaviest 
censures and most terrible threatenings, for an impotency of 
nature, born with them ; if faith be made the grand constituent of 
all religion, and yet never so fully explained as to convey any 
definite idea of its nature, further than that it consists in a strong 
persuasion that Christ has died for me, and is about to save me, 
that he has paid a debt which I owe to Divine Justice, and 
made, thereby, my discharge from punishment a matter of legal 
demand; that the infinitely perfect righteousness of his active 
obedience and character are made over to me by contract, so 
that prior to any consideration of my repentance or person- 
al holiness, I am necessarily pardoned, and eternally justified ; 
that in the gospel plan there is no intermediate idea, between 
atonement, pardon, imputed righteousness, and eternal justifica- 
tion ; and, of course, that the Christian’s sanctification is an infer 


359 


rior consideration, wholly out of the chain, and that love to 
God makes no part of the religion of the gospel, strictly speak- 
ing, although it be admitted that there is such an affection in the 
Christian as love,* and such another affection as selfishness ; if 
personal holiness be kept wholly out of sight, or so feebly or 
mystically explained, that the hearer will form no conception 
of its usefulness or importance ; in short, if a perpetual strain of 
Divine promises, dealt out with no discrimination of character, 
and calculated to foster the deepest pride and most odious hy- 
pocrisy ; if all these combined causes of ignorance, error and 
stupidity, will, in due time, produce astonishing effects, in this 
city, such effects may be looked for — indeed, are already par- 
tially produced. 

If this strain of doctrine shall maintain its ground, and prevail 
in this city, it will soon become the most corrupt, abandoned, 
and profligate city on earth. These doctrines are themselves 
the floodgates of corruption. When religion sets a man loose 
from his obligations, what further restraint is to be expected ? 
Religion was sent in aid of the voice of conscience. She kin- 
dled up her heavenly light, not to extinguish, but to pour new 
strength and brilliance into the lamp of reason : and that is not 
religion which makes war with every dictate of reason, justice, 
and common sense, and wraps itself from the eyes of men in 
glooms of obscurity and mists of darkness. 

But if this scheme prevails in this city ; if the plans and pro- 
jects of the men by whom it is taught and abetted, are crowned 
with success ; if they shall succeed in bearing down all before 
them, and bringing the people into their views, the great body 
of their hearers will soon become infidels in sentiment ; their 
minds, wearied with a constant strain of absurdities and contra- 
dictions, will soon learn to identify religion with every thing 
unreasonable and contemptible. Their churches will be false 

* Dr. M’Leod, Serm. 9, p. 369, says, “ It is easy to show that personal re- 
ligion includes the exercise of love to God and man.” But I aver, that any 
reader, even with an eagle’s eye, who snail read what he makes of it in the 
run often pages, will be convinced that it was no easy matter for him to 
show it : and, to be sure, such another whirl of chaotic atoms, as he there 
puts in motion, I never before saw. 


360 


and hollow as their doctrines. The pains they are taking to 
weed out all moral notions, nay, Divine love itself, which is the 
soul of all religion, as it is the nature of God, will instruct them, 
when it is too late, that Christian ministers are but unprofitably 
employed in promoting selfishness, ignorance, and prejudice. 
But I leave them in the hands of him who is able to maintain 
the cause of truth ; and who sometimes suffers errror to triumph 
as a punishment to the wicked. 

INVESTIGATOR. 


No. II. 

THE GOOD PRESBYTERIAN. 


(Concluded from the Fourth Series.) 

Part II. 

“ O fortunati quorum, jam mcenia surgunt !” 

Preaching plain Scripture, without tedious reasonings, or 
dry and deceptive metaphysics, and preaching in such a man- 
ner as to give no offence to the proud, the ignorant, the hypo- 
critical, the fastidious, the vicious, and the dull, form two grand 
qualifications of the good Presbyterian. 

The good Presbyterian makes a conspicuous figure in the 
ecclesiastical courts. 

In this grand article, I suspect that this class of men are per- 
haps surpassing all example of improvement. I have, with my 
own eyes, witnessed sudden attainments which almost reconcil- 
ed me to the astonishing history of the admirable Crichton. 
New England, as much as she boasts of her theological im- 
provements, must acknowledge that she is far surpassed in this 
article — in this high and exalted kind of ecclesiastical excellence. 


361 


If the venerable Findley or Davies could now come upon 
earth, they would be astonished at the magnitude and splendour 
of the improvements already made, and now making. Me- 
thinks I can almost hear what they would say, on such an occa- 
sion ; they would exclaim, “ Happy age ! to be distinguished 
by such greatness ! Happy people ! born to such transcendent 
felicity ! Happy country ! formed for the theatre of such re- 
markable displays of wisdom! such varied excellences and ge- 
nerally to be ascribed to the good presbyterian, as every year 
unfolds itself in our ecclesiastical courts, is sufficient to chal- 
lenge the admiration of the present generation, and I cannot 
but think, would be a useful lesson to the gentlemen of the law 
employed on our illustrious bench of civil justice ; and, perhaps, 
also to our most distinguished civilians of every description. 

Although brief, I shall be somewhat particular and elementa- 
ry in this discussion ; and would cheerfully submit it to the 
Mansfield of our civil courts* to say, whether ecclesiastical ju- 
risprudence in our country is not rising to a respectable and 
splendid rank. 

1. On the convening of a spiritual court, you find yourself in 
a new atmosphere of peculiar influence, powers, and density. 
I hardly know what to call it , or to which of the departments 
of nature or science to turn, to aid my illustration. Perhaps the 
effects of some of the aerated gasses, in consequence of inspira- 
tion, might resemble it. You perceive a sharpness of intellect, 
an intensity of attention, an acuteness of eye, an agitation of 
muscular lines, varied and introverted circles of light and mo- 
tion, thought and sentiment, and flashes of import cross and wa- 
ver on the countenance. There seems at first nothing like 
amalgamation in the general mass. Every thing is stern, se- 
vere, biting, distant, alone, averse, opposite. But you are hap- 
py soon to perceive that all this is but a conscious thrill of the 
feelings of independent and inflexible justice. You are to 
consider that the only Law Book of this court is astonish- 
ingly concise — comprised, as I have said, in a few duodecimo 
pages. There is no Blackstone, Bacon, Coke, or even Burn’s 


31 


Judge K — . 


362 


Justice, to help along. There are few words of precedents, 
opinions, or decisions, to consult : yet every step is taken, every 
act is done by law or precedent — not a speech is made without 
the ample and imposing dress of parliamentary discussion. 

The technical phrases cf legislatures and courts of justice, of 
lawyers and congress orators, are necessary, and at all events 
must be had, or the cause is injured, the dignity of the court 
impaired, and the speaker sunk down to nothing. No wonder, 
then, at this thrill of anxiety, this oppressive load of care, at the 
opening of a session, when the full tale of bricks are to be 
made, and no straw afforded, nor even stubble to be gathered, 
but from the headlands, balks, and corners of distant fields, and 
scanty harvests. And many of the court, not having the advan- 
take of Puffendorff, Montesquieu, or Vattel, are even uncer- 
tain of the Jus Naturale , Morale , et Civile , of every case. All 
these evils are suddenly remedied in a manner truly astonishing ; 
for, 

First , The co urtly air of every thing in this new region, this 
laboratory of ecclesiastical jurisprudence, is such, that numbers 
begin, without knowing it, to breathe the air and spirit of law. 
As was said, in another case, and with variant import, they, in 
one moment, have a new heart, become other men, and have 
new powers of intuition, and new modes of communication. 
You shall see one rise, and with the most perfect parliamentary 
air, such as would appear in Wilberforce or Canning, call for 
“ the order of the day,” although, three hours before this trans- 
formation, he would certainly not have known what that phrase 
meant. Another will arrest a debate and insist on “the pre- 
vious question,” perhaps never, till the inspiration of that pro- 
pitious moment, knowing the technical import of that phrase. 
Another, with singular adroitness, shall rise to move that a com- 
mittee be appointed to report a resolution, to overturn a cause, 
to change or new model the form of a minute to be entered on 
record. 

With astonishing expertness they acquire the style of a de- 
liberative legislative assembly, over which is completely super- 
induced the technical phrases of courts ,o,f law. To say nothing 


363 


of the convenience of this learned language, I may remark 
how very necessary it is, in a judicatory, which, in fact, holds 
plenary powers, both legislative, judicial and executive. But, 

Secondly , It is not to be understood that every member in 
this court, can suddenly rise to this great attainment. Many 
heavy, plodding men, of mere plain common sense, have the 
infelicity never to be able to acquire this skill. They must jog 
on as they can, but they never can hope to arrive at eminence, 
or place their feet on the shoulders of others ; of course, they 
can neither shove those above them, nor rise from the dead le- 
vel of the base of the pyramid — can never become good presby- 
terians. 

I have often heard it remarked, that a man who means to ac- 
quire influence, must be active in the judicatories of the church ; 
and this notion seems to be the main spring of action. The 
skill of which I am speaking, is the grand desideratum. There 
is one art, it is said, in which some men never can acquire skill.* 
Enough, however, can acquire this juridical skill, to give tone 
to the system, to take a decided preeminence, and to inspire a 
much larger number with emulation. 

Parliamentary business has one dialect, courts of justice 
another, theologians a third ; common, civil, statute, and ca- 
non laws, have distinct phrases, and separate courts ; but in the 
court before us, they all unite the spirit of their maxims, and 
the concentrated and rectified science of their language. But 
it is the superlative felicity of a few men, a few, very few rare 
spirits, to exhibit perfect models here. I have them this mo- 
ment in my eye ; 

“ Eloquar, an sileam ?” 

Where not the admiration of men a principle of absolute levi- 
ty, they carry enough of it about them, to crush Hercules, 
Sampson, or Atlas. But light as it is, I fear to load them with 
more ; I shall therefore be silent. 

But though I must not speak names, I surely may give some 
lines, perhaps filled with a little mezzotinto, in doing which I 
shall feel an inward satisfaction, and, perhaps, give to some a de- 

* Freemasonry. 



'•~V< / 



364 

gree of the same sort of pleasure, while I discharge a debt of 
justice. 

I fancy some oracle of ecclesiastical jurisprudence rising 
slowly from his seat. Ah ! ’tis he — it is the venerable Dr. 
Slambangus ! While he lays back his foretop, and raises and 
waves his hand, to put the humeri extensores in tune for har- 
monious action ; while the ophthalmic muscles, with awful con- 
vergence, point the visual ray level, beneath a superciliary nex- 
us of majesty and thought, as when the sun from the eastern 
horizon shows half its orb beneath a line of darkness, an at- 
tention spreads that would almost render thoughts audible, and 
give an echo to silence itself. He speaks ! 

“Mr. Moderator, 

“ When I consider the dignity of the chair you fill, which 
dignity it derives from the dignity of HIM who fills it, who is 
promoted by the dignitaries of the church, to be the chief dig- 
nitary of all the dignitaries of this ECCLESIASTICAL 
COURT, I feel myself dignified, while I dignify you, Sir, who 
are dignified by those whom all men dignify. Sir, I rise to 
move you, that there be a commission instituted, and a com- 
mittee appointed, to prepare and report a bill, to this house, 
relative to the regulation of forms of business, the arrangement 
of precedents, and the revision and enlargement of law phrases : 
the object of which is to lay a broader foundation for juridical 
science. And furthermore, Sir, if this motion shall prevail, 
and be carried into effect, I have it in contemplation to intro- 
duce another motion, which I move may be the order of the 
day for next Monday, the object of which shall be to establish 
a seminary of ecclesiastical or canon law, in which there shall 
be three professorships : the first, to form into a body of reports 
the decisions of all judicatories, drawn from their records and 
judgment rolls ; the second , from these reports, and from our 
standardly to form regular digests, pandects, or codices legum 
ecclesiasticorum ; the third, to arrange and complete a Lexicon 
of legal terms and phrases, to be entitled, Lexicon verborum 
theologiorum ecclesiasticorumque : and furthermore, that, pro- 
vided this motion shall prevail, to move for the order of the 
day on Tuesday, that the theological course of every candi- 


365 


date for licensure shall be completed by four years instruction, 
under these professors, which I presume every one will per- 
c eive to be of vital importance to the ministerial character.” 

Though I have stated the above motions merely as possible 
specimens of court deliberation, yet, the reader will readily per- 
ceive that there is far more than mere imagination in all this. 
How grand would be the era, when professors, fellowships, 
and colleges of ecclesiastical law, shall be established. These 
canon laws would, probably, soon derive a concurrent juris- 
diction with all other laws of the country. We shall not then 
see such bungling, as we now often see with blushes, or with 
regret. Our young divines will come forth skilful and accom- 
plished lawyers, and our ecclesiastical judicatories will open a 
wide and splendid field of parliamentary eloquence and talents. 
But, 

2. The good presbyterian will never fail, in all the revolu- 
tions of court business, in all debates, appointments, elections, 
influences, manoeuvres, ruses de guerres , coup de mains , for- 
lorn hopes, and extremities of court management, I will not 
say intrigue, to maintain firmly, magnanimously, gloriously, 
nay, furiously, and desperately, the power and prerogative of 
the clergy. And what can be more just, more excellent, more 
necessary ? Who ought to have power but men possessed of 
holiness ? Are they not born to rule ? And where is the authority 
so well coupled as with wisdom and justice ? Are they not form- 
ed and fitted to govern ? Behold their gravity, their meekness, 
their candour, their wisdom, their tender regard for the welfare 
of all below them, their magnanimous mercy, and disinterested 
benevolence ! 

A congregation may have an anxious desire to settle a cer- 
tain minister; but a body of clergymen may know better than to 
gratify that desire. An infant will sometimes cry, and be very pet- 
ulent, because, a careful and tender nurse keeps its fingers out of 
the candle. It is often so with congregations of people ; their 
wishes are nothing ; and what do they know ? It is for their 
good to be always subject to the high and infallible decision of 
every ecclesiastical court, “ IN ALL CASES WHATSOEV- 
ER” — a boon, though denied the King of Great Britain, can* 
31 * 


366 


not be denied a reverend clergyman. A majority is nothing 
in the eye of the law ; since it is well known that the minority 
is often on the right side of the question. 

3. In the ecclesiastical courts, the good presbyterian is 
known by his inviolable adherence to forms. And this, in the 
present state of business, is a most difficult affair to manage, 
and will so remain till legal professorships are instituted. 
Where the standard prescribes no form, and where no direct 
order of a higher judicatory can be adduced that will touch 
the case, I have sometimes seen the strongest indications of a 
brown study on so many countenances. In these distressing ca- 
ses, some master-spirit always affords relief by recollecting a 
precedent. 

The ancient advocates of the doctrine of substantial forms, 
used to say, “ If it is important that a thing should be done, it 
is equally so, that it should be done in some manner — that it 
should have some form.” Is there not reason in that argument X 
Can a hat exist without the form of a hat ? Forms are as essen- 
tial as things, and I suspect that the doctrine of substantial forms 
will soon be revived. Why should we spurn and disparage the 
old philosophers, and extol and revere the old divines X It is 
absurd, and there is, no doubt, as much merit in certain res- 
pects, in the one class as the other. 

Such glorious displays of invincible, inviolable attachment to 
forms as I have seen I Reader, it would do your heart good, to 
see the like ; it would, I aver, exalt your opinion of human na- 
ture. The principle of uniformity is one of the grandest of all 
nature’s harmonies. When a thing is once done, it should al- 
ways be done in the same manner , and then people may know 
how to do it. No possible improvement can countervail the 
beauty and uniformity of sameness. The man that slicks to 
this principle, in the judicatories of the church, cannot but rise 
to greatness ; and I, in fact, know some men who are toiling 
and climbing to the high and distant eminence of the double D, 
by dint of nothing else. Men, whose minds are naturally dull, 
flat, insipid, and inelastic as a piece of slate, by constantly and 
strenuously pressing formality of proceeding, become, at length, 
highly distinguished, in the spiritual court ; — Moderator of a Sy- 


367 

nod — Moderator of the General Assembly— Doctor— Professor 
— any thing — every thing — 

• 

“ His countenance like 
The morning star, that guides the starry flock, 

Allur’d them, and drew after him a third 
Part of heaven’s host.” 

Nothing makes a man appear so great, so reverend, so wise. 
He becomes, at once, a sacred diplomatist — a he-goat of the 
flock ; though these terms may not seem to agree. He is skil- 
ful ; he is ready ; he is every where th efac totum. “ Quod di - 
cendum — dicit— faciendum— facit” Common sense, when set 
in competition to form , appears foolishness; reason no better 
than madness, and all the rules of expediency, like David’s ser- 
vants, under the shears of Hanun, king of Moab, glad to keep 
out of court till their beards are grown, or, at any rate, till they 
can get longer garments. 

4. The last thing I shall mention is the wonderful faculty of 
some great leaders to vindicate all their doetrines, all their opi- 
nions, all the rules, proceedings, forms, decisions, and decrees 
of ecclesiastical courts, by their standard, consisting of a few 
duodecimo pages ; and this is done with perfect promptitude 
and convincing perspicuity. There must be a ductility in the 
standard which surpasses all example. I do not say that every 
man, or even every man of talents can do this : it is the rare fe- 
licity of a few men whose genius must be as plastic as the law 
book itself. A small piece of gold, says Lewenhoeck, will gild a 
wire that will reach round the globe ; but these moral ductilities 
seem, for aught I can perceive, to be absolutely infinite. But to 
arrive at this happy talent, the ecclesiastical civilian must explore 
the standard with the eyes of Archimedes, many times, before 
he shall be able to pronounce the joyful “ Eurisko, Eurisko.” 

Before I close on this article, I would barely suggest, whe- 
ther it would not be better to have the bible used in a more re- 
stricted manner. It is an exceedingly sacred book, and very 
liable to perversion. If every man be allowed to read it for 
himself, and be his own expositor, there will certainly be a di- 
versity of opinions both in doctrine and discipline; and many 
people will be continually differing from the standard. All ex- 


368 


perience demonstrates this fact, that where people make a free 
use of the bible, without a living oracle at hand, though doubt- 
less a very plain book, they will differ concerning its import. 
Perhaps, indeed, this difference was first set on foot by some of 
those living oracles, in earlier times, when living and breathing 
oracles were not as pure and honest as they are now, or, at 
least, did not understand the bible as well as they do now, when 
they have no motive to mislead the minds of mankind. 

The question, however, is, whether it would not be better to 
put the standard into the hands of the people, which is a con- 
cise and clear statement of the great points of doctrine and dis- 
cipline, and let it be the business of their teachers to show them 
its exact congruity to the sacred scriptures ; for so sure as they 
set themselves about that business, they will often make very 
wild work of it. 

I have been put into this train of thoughts by several indica- 
tions which appear to look that way. I have, in the first place, 
noticed, and especially since the science of ecclesiastical juris- 
prudence has made such progress, that the great leaders in that 
career never make any reference to the word of God in our ec- 
clesiastical courts ; they appeal directly to the standard as the 
grand and only law book, or to the paramount authority of pre- 
cedents founded on that standard. There are, indeed, some 
blunt, bungling, and old-fashioned men, who will sometimes 
quote the scriptures, and urge a passage from the bible, in some 
disputable case or question. But they are generally laughed at, 
or frowned upon, as totally wanting all skill and sense of pro- 
priety ; or, perhaps, are pitied for their ignorance, ill-timid ob- 
servations, and rawness in such matters.* 

In a few rare instances, I have known some of these uncourt- 
Iy blunderers to insinuate, that a certain passage in scripture ra- 
ther militiated against the standard, and in that case they never 
failed to draw down upon themselves heavy censures, and strong 
indignation. 

* At a late meeting of the Young Men’s Missionary Society, during the 
trial of Mr. C — , a motion was made to exclude scripture proofs, as improper,. 


I 


369 


Iii the next place, I have observed, that these true and 
thorough ecclesiastical lawyers do not promote the reading and 
discussion of the scriptures among their people. Such an incli- 
nation appearing among their people would excite alarm and 
surprise, as I have before remarked, and would not fail to meet 
with serious opposition. I do not hesitate to declare, that if 
such a propensity should manifest itself in any of the congrega- 
tions of these triangular preachers, in this city, it would not fail 
to excite great alarm, and would immediately be suppressed 
and put down. “ What,” they would say, “ these people are 
about to become wiser than their teachers !” They endeavour, 
indeed, to get their people together to pray and sing psalms : 

but not for discussions ! And I call upon the people 

of this city to witness, that no meetings or associations for 
rational inquiry into religious subjects, grounded on the scrip- 
tures, is ever set on foot or encouraged here.* 

It would make people speculative — would result in disputes, 
mataphysics — perhaps divisions and heresies. They had better 
let the bible alone, and leave it for their great masters to ex- 
plain to them that awfully mysterious book, in such time, place, 
and manner, as they please. 

Dr. M‘Leod remarks, (Sermon 6, p. 232.) that in well-re- 
gulated churches, where f piety is cultivated by the pure preach- 
ing of evangelical truth, the ordinary means of growth are the 
noiseless conversion of the children of Zion, that is, in their in- 
fancy. This seems to be a grand discovery, but, at the same time, 
implies a concession, that the world has never yet seen a well- 
regulated church. The plan of regulations the Doctor has in 
mind I presume would complete the good presbyterian, and be a 
great benefit to the world. The Doctor informs us (p. 231.) “ That 
the promise of God secures the salvation of the offspring of be- 
lievers dying in infancy.” If this be true, on accounfof the bad 
regulation of churches, it would seem to be the duty of all 

* Bible Classes are formed, among the young people in several congrega- 
tions in this city, and their object is highly laudable, but essentially different 
from the one above mentioned. In these classes, the?priest is the oracle ; and 
the knowledge which comes over, is from an alembic, which gives every 
thing the exact colour and spirit of his opinion. There is nothing like free 
discussion intended, or accomplished. 


370 


Christians to pray that God would take away all their children 
in infancy ; since, according to the best light we can get, grow- 
ing up to manhood, they more than half of them live and die 
in impenitence, and are lost. There seems, however, to be some 
difficulty in this opinion, but here is no place for argumentation ; 
and the great authority of the Doctor seems to forbid it, if there 
were. Yet, I must observe, holding this great man to his own 
premises, if such be the condition of all the infant children of 
believers, that dying in infancy, they would be all saved, it must 
be because Christ has made atonement for all their sins, which 
“ atonement,” the Doctor says, “ excludes subsequent punish- 
ment, and implies reconciliation but, such being their condition 
in infancy, I trust it will continue to be their condition, though 
they should attain to the years of Methusaleh. On the con- 
trary, if the child of a believer reaches seventy years, and then 
dies a sinner, it must be, on the Doctor’s plan, because Christ 
never died for him, and had he died in infancy, he could not 
have been saved. 

But presently the Doctor begins to talk about his children re- 
jecting God’s promise of eternal salvation, and says, “ they will 
be saved, unless they reject the promise of eternal life.” I only 
desire to caution him to take care what he says ; for does he 
mean to say, that a promise of eternal life is made to any one 
for whom Christ did not die ? or, when made to one for whom 
Christ did die, is it ever finally rejected ? He is over his line. 
For myself, I read that the promises of God in Christ, are not 
yea and nay, but yea and amen. This, however, by the by. 

But I am struck with the beauty and harmony of a system. 
We first see the doctrines of the everlasting gospel preached 
to the church and to the world, to people of all classes, with- 
out giving offence. Even the offence of the cross has ceased , 
and the gospel no longer sends a sword on earth, but peace. 
Like a gentle anodyne, it creates peace and quiet in every bo- 
som, and soothes every conscience. In the next place, eccle- 
siastical polity is becoming a grand science, opening scenes well 
calculated to furbish dormant talents, enkindle glorious ambi- 
tion, and bring the church on high ground. In the third place, 
a smoother road to conversion is discovered. The terrible 
noise made about religious revivals in this country is all mis- 


371 


take, or, more properly, a delusion. People generally become 
religious in infancy. “ This mode of bringing home to the great 
Shepherd the lambs of his fold, seems to be more congenial with 
the order of his kingdom, than the sudden incursions which are made 
into the territory of the god of this world in order to pluck the prey 
from the mighty, and bring a stranger to the commonwealth of Israel. 

The mode of conversion alluded to, in the latter case , is indeed 
more remarkable ; but this fact indicates that it is somewhat ex- 
traordinary.” 

If, then, in the numerous revivals called religious, since the 
days of the Reformation, in all parts of Christendom, but now 
and then an incursion has been made into the kingdom of the god 
of this world, and if a stranger, plucked with noise and bustle from 
the mighty, has been an extraordinary case, and not congenial 
to the order of Christ’s kingdom, let preachers become a little more 
bland and soothing to pride and hypocrisy; let the church be- 
come a little better regulated , and rise to more show and splen- 
dor, and these noisy awakenings will cease to trouble and con- 
found her spiritual lords ; the church will soon be filled up with 
noiseless conversions — indeed, will rise in self-importance and 
self-deception, till her bloated and rotten fabric, together with 
her infatuated builders, shall sink together in one common 
ruin. INVESTIGATOR. 


No. III. 


In introducing a letter of the celebrated Gilbert Ten- 
nant, to his brother, William Tennant, during his min- 
istry in Philadelphia, I trust I shall confer a pleasure upon 
every evangelical reader ; as it furnishes a noble specimen 
of the vigorous conceptions, and ardent zeal, of a great 
and pious mind. 

I have only to beg, that the tame and temporising spirits 
of the present day would read it, and see the immense distance 
they stand from the temper and feelings of the fathers of our 
church. They may, also, if they please, perceive no less dif- 
ference in their views of the character of God, as well as 
the nature and quality of that affection which creatures owe 
him. INVESTIGATOR. 


§72 


TO THE INVESTIGATOR. 

If you can make any use of this extract, it is at your service. 
The publication is in my possession. In a letter to his bro- 
ther William, after mentioning certain measures, and modes of 
proceeding, which appeared to him the effects of carnal policy, 
and coldness or cowardice in the cause of religion, Mr. T. says, 
“ O, my dear brother, the prudence of hypocrites, and many of 
the pious of this generation, though it be highly esteemed 
among men, is an abomination in the sight of God ; a mere 
mystery of selfish, sneaking, cowardly iniquity. They get by 
this a good name amongst the wicked, which they call charac- 
ter. But what good do they with it ? And what comfort have 
they in it ? For my part, I look on a character so got, and so 
kept, to be a scandal, and a reproach. Away with the abomi- 
nation of carnal cunning ! Let us come out for God, as flames 
of fire, and say, with gallant Luther, madness is better than 
mildness in the cause of God ! Let us imitate dear and noble 
Zuinglius, who, when mortally wounded in the field of battle, 
triumphed over his bloody papal enemies, yea, and over 
death itself, in these ever memorable strains of heroism, 
Quidni hoc infortuni? 0 primitive simplicity, and divine for- 
titude, whither are ye fled 1 Surely all flesh have corrupted 
their way, and there is none upright among men ! Surely, sure- 
ly, there is no reason to be scared at the precious cross of our , 
dear and venerable Lord Jesus, or to contrive or come into 
soft methods to please the ungodly, and screen us from the ut- 
most weight of suffering that men or devils can inflict. O, it is 
honorable, it is ravishing, to suffer for our dearest Lord ! It is a 
small expression of grateful love to our great and good master, 
in return for his unmerited, immense, condescending love to 
us ; and, therefore, if God so please, let good and bad, men and 
devils, roar and rage, yea, let the whole creation come against 
us, with all its fury and force, strip us of every thing naturally 
dear to mankind, curse us, condemn us, tear us to pieces, or 
grind us to powder, it is sweet, it is lovely, it is precious. All 
kinds of suffering, and that in the highest degree that ever were 


or can be infflicted by the sons of men, are welcome, dear Lord 
Jesus Christ, for thee, and infinitely too little in return for thy 
love. The testimony of our consciences, enlightened by the 
Holy Ghost, that ‘ in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with 
fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of God, we have had our con- 
versation in the world,’ is infinitely better and sweeter than the 

applause of the whole earth. “ Nulld pallescere culpd munus .” 

The apostles did more good to mankind, under the greatest 
reproach and contempt, than we do, with all our fine character . 
For our good name , among the ungodly and fleshly Christians 
of this adulterous generation, gotten by carnal compliances, is 
to our reproach. For if we did what we should, and as we 

should, they would fall upon us and beat us for God’s sake. 

“ But I must stop my pen, which, from the fulness of my heart, 
would write a volume instead of a letter, and return to observe, 
that the aforesaid heavenly light opened to my view the Di- 
vine perfections, both natural and moral, especially the latter, 
arrayed with such superior, transcendent, and inexpres- 
sible charms, as made all the beauty of men and angels, com- 
pared therewith, to appear as darkness and deformity. This 
view of the Divine Excellence, (the grand source and origin of 
being and good,) considered in the Deity himself, and as ex- 
pressed in the works of creation, providence, and redemption, 
inspired my soul with admiration, reverence, humility, and 
love ; and, by its magnetic force, attracted ardent aspirations 
of heart after God, as my chief good, last end, centre, and pat- 
tern. I was inclined to revere Jehovah , and to love him supreme- 
ly , merely because of his own intrinsic amiableness, purity , and 
worth, without any regard to myself at all. I could not but love 
him if he had never loved me, or shown me any kindness, nor ever 
would in time to come. In the mean while, I felt the 
gentle violence of innumerable, invaluable, and unmer- 
ited benefits shed on me in a rich and unwearied profu- 
sion, together with personal engagements, and immortal hopes, 
superadded to the former disinterested attractives. All those 
in conjunction fired my soul, and struck every spring of mo- 
tion. Then was I inclined afresh to turn my back on all crea- 
tures, and embrace the fountain and origin of beauty and bles- 
32 


374 


edness, in whom I clearly saw that complete happiness was to 
be found amidst all the vicissitudes and miseries of the present 
life, and in him alone ; so that if there was no future state of 
existence at all, no future recompense, sincere piety is its own 
reward ; yea, such a one as all the honours, pleasures, and emol- 
uments, of this world, amassed in the possession of one man, 
cannot balance or parallel ; its sweets are so sublime, rational, 
satisfactory, and noble.” 


No. IV. 

THOUGHTS ON THEOLOGICAL TRUTH. 

While in the following cursory reflections on Truth, it has 
not been my endeavour to follow the particular outline of any 
creed or confession of faith, so neither have I taken any great 
care, by a laboured style and philosophical accuracy of lan- 
guage, to shun the cavils of the captious, the ignorant, the base, 
and the malicious which are too little the objects of my regard to 
induce much labour or caution. 

With sincerity of heart I have expressed my opinions on these 
important subjects, aware that they are amenable to a higher 
judgment than that of man. 

I. The book of Revelation and the works of Nature are the 
fountains of knowledge ; from one or the other of these, we 
derive whatever we know of God, or of his creatures. We are 
made susceptible of knowledge ; can perceive, compare, and 
judge ; which may be termed exercises of reason. 

But, in our present state, we are not always able to refer 
every point of knowledge to its proper fountain. With a fa- 
culty to perceive, man is placed in the midst of a universe of 
beings, whose natures, actions, designs, and characters, it is de- 
sirable for him to know ; but as comparatively few of -these 
objects can come under the inspection of his reason or senses, 
he depends on information or testimony, and this is termed re - 
vealed or natural , as it comes originally from God or creatures. 


375 


II. We are equally ignorant of the nature or essence of mat- 
ter and mind. We perceive that they differ in all their known 
properties ; that one is capable of thought, memory, love, ha- 
tred, &c., that the other is incogitative, and inactive. We thence 
conclude, that they are entirely different in their nature, and the 
word of God establishes that distinction. But, as we judge of 
mind or spiritual beings through the medium of material and sen- 
sitive organs, we are liable to err in our opinions or conceptions 
of them. It was the remark of an ancient philosopher, that matter 
is the shadow of spirit. We know enough, however, of both, to 
establish the superior importance and excellence of spiritual na- 
tures. 

III. “ God is an object the most grand and awful that ever 
engaged the attention of creatures.” It is impossible to know 
how far mankind would have discovered his being and perfec- 
tions by the light of nature, without the aid of special revelation. 
But having revealed himself, and made his character and attri- 
butes known, in a special way, the light of nature and the reason 
of the human mind do not contradict, but, in many instances, con- 
firm that revelation. 

Neither is the idea of a special revelation of God to creatures, 
nor are any of the truths revealed, repugnant to the dictates of 
reason, though some of them are beyond its comprehension. 
Indeed, reason is on the side of revelation, not only in the ag- 
gregate, but in the detail of its doctrines. The A-theist, who 
shall deny the existence of God, will find his own reason far 
more embarrassed than the Christian who believes in revelation. 
The order, harmony, beauty, and magnificence of the universe, 
favours the idea which God has revealed of his being and attri- 
butes. Safely might we rest the merits of the grand question on 
the comparative reasonableness of the two propositions, viz. whe- 
ther the material universe is uncreated and eternal, or whether 
created and governed by God, and that God is eternal ? 

The universe, as far as we can discover, is what it might be 
expected to be, under the direction of such a being as God has 
revealed himself to be ; but is what could not possibly be, without 
the exertion of infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, in one 
design, and by one being. 


376 


There is but one God. The supposition of two Gods that 
were omnipotent, would be absurd. If their power were equal, 
they might so effectually counteract each other, that nothing 
could be accomplished, and neither would be omnipotent : but 
were their power unequal, the weaker surely could not be om- 
nipotent. With such absurdities the heathen polytheism was 
encumbered. The surrounding starry heavens, the mighty sys- 
tem of planets revolving round the sun, and turning on their 
axes to receive his beams, all in one direction, and nearly in one 
great plane, the changing seasons on this globe, the animal and 
vegetable kingdoms, the wonderful mechanism of man, the 
whole system of nature, in short, involving systems within sys- 
tems, with most exquisite connexion, and regular and endless 
gradations, all manifest unity of design, and perfection of wis- 
dom — all favour the idea that there is but one God, one scheme 
of providence. 

God is a spirit, and omnipresent ; but were he a material be- 
ing, either the material worlds must be a part of God, or else 
two bodies can occupy the same place, or else he could not be 
omnipresent. Our own reason and experience approve the doc- 
trine of God’s spirituality. We perceive that matter is incapa- 
ble of perception, thought, or action. When at rest it will never 
move, but by force a b extra ; when in motion, it will never stop 
till it meets resistance. Matter is a being perfectly passive ; 
hence, vis inertia , or power of inactivity, as it is called, is 
among its primary qualities. All the phenomena of nature 
confirm this idea. Spirit, or mind, which I here use as synony- 
mous, is the only agent in the universe. I shall here take no 
notice of the idle controversy sometimes raised, “ How, or whe- 
ther a spirit can move a material substance I” When we per- 
ceive the greatest portions of matter moving in a manner which 
indicate and demonstrate the most perfect wisdom and unlimit- 
ed power, we cannot doubt that they are moved by mind. In- 
deed, when we perceive all creation through her extensive de- 
partments, from the revolution of worlds, to the growing of 
a spire of grass, or the circulation of the fluids of an insect, 
and in all these infinitely varied and complicated movements. 


377 


evincing a uniform and astonishing adaptation of means to ends, 
we cannot doubt that there is a God, that he is a Spirit, omni- 
potent and omnipresent. 

The object of these remarks is not to prove the being and 
perfections of God, but to show that what God has revealed of 
Himself is not repugnant and revolting to our reason. 

God is eternal. We are able to perceive that something 
must have existed from eternity. It may perhaps not be very 
easy to show why something could not spring up from nothing, 
and without any cause. Yet we certainly know that it could 
not ; and there is not a more evident truth, than that if there 
had ever been a time when nothing existed, that nothing would 
ever have existed. Hence, the world of beings, we perceive, 
is full proof that some being must have been from eternity. 

I shall not enter into arguments. Every reader knows in 
what way the hypothesis of an eternal series of dependent 
causes is confuted ; and every reflecting mind will perceive that 
such a hypothesis explodes itself. For if you begin at the fur- 
ther end of the chain, if I may so say, and come this way every 
successive link in the whole chain must be at an infinite distance 
from us ; but if you begin at this end, and run back, then every 
successive link in the whole chain must be at an assignable 
distance from us, of course, not infinite. Coming this way, 
from the further end, they must be all infinitely distant from us ; 
— going the other way, from this end, they must be all at a 
measurable distance. In a continuous chain, part of the links 
cannot be at a finite, and the other part at an infinite distance ; 
for if so, what would be the distance of the middlemost ? 

It is sufficiently clear to human reason, that the eternal, 
spiritual, omnipotent, omnipresent God, revealed in the scrip- 
tures, must have existed from eternity ; and have been the 
creator, upholder, and governor of all worlds, and all creatures. 

“ The Christian who believes this must have far less credulity, 
and do less violence to his reason,” says one, “ than the Atheist 
who denies it.” Our strongest conceptions of infinity are doubt- 
less attended with much weakness and obscurity. We arrive 
at them by considering a number growing without end, or by 
reflecting on boundless expansion. 

32 # 


378 


God has infinite knowledge. Perhaps our best conception 
of this is derived from the consideration, that He knows every 
thing which can be known, or is the proper subject of know- 
ledge. But of the mode or manner of his perception of know- 
ledge, we can form no conception. It comprehends the past, 
the present, and the future : and with Him there can be neither 
forgetfulness, recollection, nor discovery of truth, which must 
include the idea of immutability. It is probable that we derive 
our notion of time, or duration, from the succession of our 
ideas : — and of space, from our having but one point of per- 
ception. Whether, therefore, time and space, as they appear 
to us, are not mere relations, which have no foundation but 
in our feeble and limited faculties, there is just reason to doubt. 
If God perceive with equal and invariable clearness in every 
point in universal space, and if with him there be no succession 
of ideas, “ no variableness nor' shadow of turning,” his views 
of what we call space and duration will be different from ours. 

I hope this hypothetical manner of speaking of that glorious 
Being will not be supposed to indicate feelings of irreverence. 
Alas ! “ He knows we are but dust.” However perfect know- 
ledge might change our views of space and duration, one thing 
is certain, creatures do exist, and events do take place. It is 
certain the sun is in one place, and the moon in another ; and 
it is equally certain, that the creation was at one time, and the 
day of judgment will be at another. 

God is holy. By this, in general, is intended his moral excel- 
lence, goodness, and purity of character. In him is infinite wis- 
dom, justice, goodness, amiableness of character. God is love. 
In his work of creation, providence, and redemption, he has 
evinced this Character ; and will continue so to do, to all 
eternity. 

Those qualities or perfections of the Divine Being, which 
are proper and necessary to his nature and character, are called 
attributes ; such as, eternity, self-existence, spirituality, omni- 
potence, omniscience, omnipresence, immutability — which not 
being supposed to depend on the divine will, are called natural 
attributes. But on the contrary, holiness, justice, goodness, 
truth, love, and mercy, as they may be said to depend on the 


379 


divine will, are denominated moral attributes. It is an infelicity 
in our language, that those terms by which we express the moral 
attributes of God are not definite with regard to each other. 
Thus, holiness and goodness are terms of wide import, and go 
more or less into the nature of every moral excellence : mercy is 
rather an act than an attribute ; and truth, which is a term gener- 
ally used in reference to language, is but the correspondence of a 
declaration with a fact; or, as Dr. Watts observes, “ the proper 
joining or disjoining of signs.” 

IV. “ And God said, Let us make man in our image, after 
our likeness.” — As this must have allusion to the soul of man, 
and not his body, we are authorized to believe that man, as a 
moral and intellectual being, exhibits some likeness of his Cre- 
ator, and that, farther than what consists merely in holiness : in 
short, that God is an infinitely great intelligent beings having 
an understanding and will, and every thing necessary to constitute 
an almighty, infinitely wise, and holy moral agent. God has 
knowledge; for the scripture declares, that “he is a God of 
knowledge, and by him actions are weighed.” He has love ; 
“ For the Lord loveth the righteous.” He has approbation and 
aversion ; “ For Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.” He 
has anger ; for “ He is angry with the wicked every day.” We 
are not to understand, however, that he is agitated with the sud- 
den, vain, and fleeting passions of men. “ His ways are above 
our ways.” 

I leave it for the reader to judge for himself, whether the union 
of the divine and human natures in Christ favours the idea of an 
intellectual and moral similarity, or resemblance, between God and 
man, considered as a holy creature. 

V. Motive, means, and end, are, in our idea, inseparable from 
the conduct of an intelligent agent. There are certain consi- 
derations which must induce us to undertake a work ; we use 
a course of means for its accomplishment ; we have an end in 
view: commonly, indeed, we have several ends or purposes 
to answer, but always a chief end. And it may be observed, 
that every single act has its motive and end, as well as the 
aggregate of the labour employed in an undertaking. And in 
the building of a tower or palace, the owner, the principal 


380 


builder or engineer, and the common labourer, may all have 
different motives and ends ; though at last all of them may 
centre in one great ultimate end. 

It is frequently, and, perhaps, not improperly said, that God 
is self-moved, in his great work. The meaning of this must be, 
that his own infinite nature and perfections furnish him with the 
motives of his conduct. Since the motive to do a work must be 
prior to the consideration of that work, as done, the motives of 
the Creator must have arisen from something prior to the creation 
itself. Before a thing exists, the question to be considered is, 
whether it had better exist or not ; in agitating which question, 
the labour or expense of rearing and supporting it are to be 
balanced against the benefits which will accrue from it, when 
made. Whichever way this question may be decided, it will 
certainly turn and be determined in view of interests and mo- 
tives extrinsical to the thing in question. When infinite wis- 
dom agitated the question, whether the universe of worlds and 
creatures should exist, and perceived an end to be answered by 
it worthy of God, infinite goodness prompted to the exertion 
of that power by which creation arose into being. Whence it 
has been thought proper to say, that God, moved by his good- 
ness, created the world for his own glory. Perfect wisdom can 
give being to nothing, but in view of its final cause, or end, 
which always looks at something beyond the thing itself. 
Wherefore, the final cause, or ultimate end of all creatures, 
comprising God’s whole kingdom, must regard something be- 
yond that kingdom, or distinct from it— something worthy of 
the infinite Jehovah ; and that must he his own honour and 
glory. 

VI. Every intelligent agent acts with design. Whatever God 
does, every exertion of his agency, from the creation of crea- 
tures to all eternity, he designed or decreed from all eternity. 
This is evident from the consideration of his knowledge and 
immutability. He has perfect, unchangeable knowledge of all 
things past, present, and to come. All events are decreed. 
“ The decrees of God are his eternal purpose — wherebv, for 
his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass.” 
Every event, connected with his agency, or the subject of his 


381 


loreknowledge, must, of necessity, be decreed. To say nothing 
of Divine agency in events, God’s foreknowledge is perfect and 
infallible. He knows how every event will be, before, as well 
as after its occurrence. This idea is necessary to the support 
of his omniscience. 

The supposition of God’s decrees can, in no degree, endan- 
ger the freedom or privileges of his creatures. If God can cre- 
ate and govern in the best manner, he can decree so to do. Let 
it be supposed that a being of infinite power, wisdom, and 
goodness, had created, and was employed in governing, a world 
of creatures without any previous decree. Superadding the idea, 
that he had determined to do what is doing, from eternity, in 
that world, would neither add to, nor take from, the condition 
of those creatures. What God does, in the universe, is the dic- 
tate of infinite wisdom ; his decree to do it is but the predeter- 
mination of that same wisdom, which eternally pre-existed his 
acts. 

The free actions of creatures are as properly the subjects of 
a decree, as the falling a tree, or the rising of the sun. This 
is established by the express testimony of Scripture. Indeed, 
the decrees of God principally relate to the moral conduct of 
creatures. I need only say, that innumerable events are de- 
clared in the word of God, as decreed, which immediately 
and wholly concern the free actions of creatures. If God de- 
creed that the city of London should this day be what it is, 
then he decreed all the steps and causes of its progress to its 
present state. If he decreed the crucifixion of Christ, then he 
decreed how, by whom, and for what cause it should be done. 

The decrees of God in. no degree interfere with the freedom 
and accountability of creatures. Hence, one moral action is as 
much the subject of a decree as another. 

The distinction set up, between foreknowledge and de- 
crees, is useless and groundless, as relates to this subject ; 
the foreknowledge of God is infallible. But that infal- 
libility must arise from the certainty of the thing fore- 
known. Now, if a future event is certain, as to the doc- 
trine of liberty, contingency, &c. it may as well be render- 
ed certain by a Divine decree, as by any other influence or 


382 


connexion. But what certainty can any future event have but by 
its connexion with his determination who “ worketh all things 
after the counsels of his own will ?” 

The decrees of God are infinitely just, wise, and good. 
Therefore it is that they are carried perfectly into ' effect. 
Were the case supposable, or possible, which it is not, that it 
should now be discovered by the great Ruler, that something 
he had decreed had better not take place, a change would 
doubtless be made, notwithstanding the decree, and that thing 
omitted. The same, however, which infinite Wisdom from all 
eternity saw best, it now sees best. Let it be our language, 
“ Thy will be done.” 

VII. The decrees of God are his previous determination to 
do what he has done, and will do, and may be considered as 
the plan of creation, providence, and redemption, formed in 
the eternal and unchanging counsels of God. Of these I shall 
briefly speak. 

CREATION. 

For our knowledge of the work of creation we depend whol- 
ly on special revelation ; and the idea that matter in a chaotic 
or organic state, long pre-existed the creation, seems to be 
without foundation in the word of God. If any general infer- 
ences can be drawn from the discoveries of geologists, they 
favour the Mosaic account of the creation ; in which it is de- 
clared that God created the universe of worlds, and angels, and 
men, and animals. The time of the creation of angels is not 
specified in the Mosaic history. Some eminent writers, how- 
ever, think that they were created but a little before the crea- 
tion of Adam. But to me, it seems probable, that they must 
have remainded awhile in their state of innocence and glory, nor 
is it certain or probable that their seduction of our first parents 
were among the first acts of their rebellion, or very soon after 
their fall. The account given of them, favours the supposition 
that they had great knowledge and experience; nor is there 
any certain evidence that they had not existed for what we 
might term thousands of years or ages before the creation of 


man. 


383 


Men and angels were created moral agents, 'pure and holy, 
but not immutable. A moral agent is a being capable of volun - 
tary action. A voluntary action is what I mean by a volition , 
and by abolition I mean an act of will. No higher conception 
of freedom of will can be formed than what a man may derive 
from his own experience, when two objects of choice are set 
before him. These may be termed his motives ; and that ob- 
ject, which, all things considered, presents the greatest good, 
may be called the ruling motive, and towards that he will in- 
cline. Hence, it is said by some, that the will will follow the 
strongest motive ; by others, that it always is as the greatest 
apparent or present good. 

It is objected, that the will thus governed by motives, cannot 
be free. Whoever will point out a constitution of will, embra- 
cing more freedom, and better to answer the purpose of a ra- 
tional being, will deserve the thanks of mankind. No one, I 
trust, will pretend that the will can act without any motive ; 
there then remains but one of two grounds to be taken. The 
will must follow either the stronger or weaker motive. A piece 
of gold and of lead are laid before a man ; if he can contrive to 
make himself prefer the lead to the gold, he must have an ex- 
traordinary degree of freedom, and moral power. 

The reader who would gain light and information on this sub- 
ject, may consult “Edwards on the Will,” a work which did 
honour not only to Edwards himself, but to the country in 
which he was born — a work which cannot be answered, nor at- 
tentively read without conviction. 

VIII. No reason can be offered against the belief that God 
formed the universe of creatures out of nothing ; that is, that 
they were not made out of any pre-existing material. Nor is 
there any foundation in Scripture for believing that intelligent 
creatures are rays, emanations, or parts, of the Deity. 

PROVIDENCE. 

IX. By the providence of God, we are to understand his power, 
justice, goodness, and mercy, exerted in preserving and govern- 
ing his creatures. His providence is infinitely wise, all-power- 


384 


ful, constant, universal, and eternal. It is believed by some, that 
a power equal to that exerted in creating, is constantly necessa- 
ry for the preservation of whatever is created ; of course, that 
preservation is a kind of constant creation. Our knowledge in- 
deed, is not sufficient to determine whether matter or spirit, 
when once brought into being, would continue by virtue of its 
own inherent nature and powers, or whether its annihilation 
would be the immediate consequence of an entire withdraw- 
ment of preserving power. But as we are taught in the scrip- 
tures, that every thing in the universe, of beauty, order, con- 
sistency or happiness ; that all life, both natural and spiritual, 
depends on the preserving power of God, we are, perhaps, justi- 
fied in the conclusion, that created existence itself depends for 
its continuance on preserving power and goodness. 

Divine providence is not only general and universal, but par- 
ticular and constant — extending not only to angels, but to in- 
sects — not only to systems of worlds, but to every particle of 
matter. When we consider that the omnipotent God is every 
where present, and can exert his power, in all places, we have 
reason to believe that so great a scheme of providence is no 
burden to him ; and can never, in one instance, for a moment, 
fail in its operation, whether it be to uphold, to prosper, to re- 
ward, or punish. 

The operation, with such amazing uniformity, of the un- 
searchable powers and principles of nature, the great laws of 
the vegetable and animal kingdoms, the regularity and gran- 
deur of the heavenly motions, all evince the presence [and en- 
ergies of a universal providence. With equal clearness may 
the same be discerned in the rise and fall of nations, and, in 
fact, in the various concerns of human life. 

Still more interesting and amazing would appear the opera- 
tions of divine providence in sustaining intellectual and spiritual 
natures. But those departments lie hidden from human in- 
spection. The greatest angels that stand around his throne are 
as dependent on his preserving goodness as the insects of a 
summer day. The constitution of their powers, and the laws 
of operation pervading their intellectual and moral faculties, are 
his work. 


385 


REDEMPTION. 

X. Jesus Christ is the great agent in the work of redemption, 
and is the prominent personage in the New Testament. He is 
the immediate author and medium, as well as the object of special 
revelation ; yet not without the manifestation and co-operation 
of the Father, and of the Holy Ghost. In Jesus Christ the di- 
vine and human natures are united. In his divine nature he was 
God, the second person in the adorable Trinity, equal with the 
Father. In his human nature, he was the son of Mary by mi- 
raculous generation. He lived on earth in a state of humiliation, 
yielded a perfect obedience to the law of God, and suffered 
death on the cross as a propitiation for sin ; he rose from the 
dead, ascended upon high, and is exalted to be head over all 
things to the church. He is called the Son of God in refer- 
ence to his humanity. 

XI. The Gospel inculcates the following doctrine, or impor- 
tant articles of truth, viz. there is one God in three Persons 
“ the Father, the word, and the holy ghost.” This mysteri- 
ous and sublime truth, against which Deists have objected and 
blasphemed, is above our comprehension, though in no sense 
repugnant to our reason. It is our duty to confess our ignorance, 
and humbly to adore God, whom we cannot comprehend. The 
doctrine of the Trinity implies more than merely three dispen- 
sations, or modes of manifestation of one person, which amounts 
to Unitarianism : and yet it does not establish the idea of three 
separate and distinct deities, which would be Tritheism. The 
seripture conveys the idea, that each person of the Trinity holds 
the whole and entire divine nature and perfections. 

This doctrine rests on broader evidence than the simple testi- 
mony of scripture itself. It was held by the primitive church, 
and has been an article of the Christian faith in all subsequent 
times. By broader evidence I mean, that it has been approved 
and tested by the Spirit of God, in every age ; by its influence 
on the prosperity of the church, and in the reformation of man- 
kind : in short, by the promotion of holiness among men, than 
which I know of no greater evidence of the purity of gospel 
doctrine. 


33 


386 


XII. Our first parents were created pure and holy, but they 
fell from that state, rebelled against God, and became sinful, 
miserable, and mortal. “ And as by one man sin entered into 
the world, and death by sin, so death hath passed upon all men, 
for that all have sinned.” “ The phrase original sin," says 
Calvin, “ is not found in the scriptures, but was invented by 
Augustine.” Human nature was corrupted in Adam, and all 
that we have derived from him, partakes of that corruption. 
The federal headship of Adam to his posterity, constitutes no 
relation between them that is inconsistent with that great law 
of nature, which is universally known, viz. that every creature 
propagated in a series of generations, shall partake of the na- 
ture of its progenitors. The guilt of Adam’s sin is not imput- 
ed to his posterity, independently of their own moral conduct, 
as it would be evidently subversive of all the principles of jus- 
tice, to condemn a man for a sin, in which he had no will, no 
consciousness, and which was committed before he existed. 

The imputation of sin and of holiness are not parallel cases ; 
it is in the nature of benignity and grace to confer favour beyond 
merit, but contrary to the nature of justice to inflict punishment 
beyond desert. 

XIII. Human nature is depraved, but that depravity is of the 
moral kind and relates principally to the heart, in which there 
is no degree of holiness — no true love to God. Of course, moral 
depravity is properly said to be total. Yet man, in a fallen state, is 
no less a moral agent ; his actions are no less free and accounta- 
ble than in a holy state : holiness is as truly required of him. 
Nor is there any ^impediment to his performing his duty but what 
lies in a voluntary disinclination to do it. Wherefore, the word 
of God commands him to break off his sins by righteousness, and 
turn to the Lord. 

XIV. Regeneration is a change of heart, wrought by the 
operation of the Holy Spirit ; and without this change of heart 
a man cannot be saved ; for “ except a man be born again, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God.” But as sin does not con- 
sist in ignorance, or error of the understanding, though it may 
occasion ignorance, by withdrawing the mind from spiritual 
things, so the new birth is not produced by an increase of 


387 


knowledge, but is the cause of such increase. Enmity to God 
constitutes the nature of sin ; for “ sin is a transgression of the 
law” of God, and love is the fulfilling of the law. Therefore, 
the great change of heart necessary to all sinners, is from enmity 
to love. 

XV. The sinner is justified by faith in Christ. Justifying faith 
is the soul’s belief in, and acceptance of, Christ as the Saviour. 
In the plan of the gospel, it appears that the pardon of sin is to 
be obtained by the propitiation, or atonement, made by Jesus 
Christ. 

The Redeemer in his glory, fulness, and grace, is exhibited 
in the gospel : the Sun of Righteousness shines in the heavens : 
his powers, perfections, and disposition, are made known in a 
proclamation of grace, that whoever will receive him as a Sa- 
viour, shall be pardoned, justified, and saved. Under this light, 
the sinner wants nothing but a heart to love the Saviour, in 
order to say, with Thomas, “ My Lord, and my God.” Saving 
faith is a clear apprehension of Christ in his nature, character, 
and offices, accompanied with love to Christ. But love to 
Christ is not caused by faith, or by any intellectual apprehen- 
sion of Christ. Nothing is holiness but love, and holiness goes 
into the first exercise of the renewed heart : in fact, a saving 
change of heart is a change from sin to holiness, from hatred to 
love. 

That process of mind in any one, which first imbibes a no- 
tion that Christ died for him, and will save him, on account of 
which he begins to love Christ, I denominate the operation of 
selfishness, and is no evidence of saving grace. The love of 
Christ certainly merits, and will meet with, a return of love 
from every good or holy heart. But that love, and all such 
love, is merely gratitude, and goes not into the true nature of 
h oliness. “ If ye love them that love you, what thank have 
ye? Do not even sinners love those that love them?’’ The 
love I may feel for any being who does, or will do, me good, 
on that account, is the love of my own interest ; for had he done 
me none of that good, he would have received none of that love 
from me. 

Holy love is a principle far above gratitude. The Christian 


388 


certainly feel 3 as much gratitude, as much thankfulness, as any 
one ; but he feels a love far above gratitude. Holy love can 
embrace enemies as well as friends, where surely there is no 
gratitude. Holy love is due to God from creatures to whom he 
never will do good ; even from fallen angels, and from all the 
wicked. The true and grand reason and motive of supreme 
love to God, is the infinite loveliness and beauty of his nature 
and character, which, in various ways, he has manifested to his 
creatures. 

There are two things in religion, which, variously modified, 
make up its several parts. I mean knowledge and love. I here 
say nothing of divine agency, which is certainly employed in 
this important matter. As far as mere intellect is concerned, a 
man may believe Christ is the Son of God, and the Saviour of the 
world. Some “ sin wilfully after having received the knowledge 
of the truth” — “ crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to 
open shame.” Christ said to the Jews, “ Ye have both seen and 
hated both me and my Father.” 

Faith i3, by some writers, termed a spiritual exercise, and 
said to spring from spiritual life. The term spiritual is often 
used in these cases without either true or definite import ; and 
is always so used, when used to signify something which can 
neither be described, nor conceived of. Nothing can be found 
in religion higher, purer, more sacred or divine, than holiness, 
of which the grand element is love to God. “ For he that dwel- 
leth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him ;” and “ we know” 
saith the apostle John, “ that we have passed from death unto 
life, because we love the brethren.” 

Christ having made propitiation for sin, it is consistent with 
Divine justice to pardon and justify the sinner, who shall em- 
brace him by faith. But faith here implies love and obedience. 
The transfer of the righteousness of Christ to the believer, if 
it conveys more than that the sinner derives the benefit of par- 
don and justification by means of Christ’s work, is without foun- 
dation. 

XVI. The atonement of Christ is a propitiation made “ for 
the sins of the whole world,” by his sufferings and death, on 


389 

account of which, pardon, justification, and eternal life, are free- 
ly offered to every sinner; and all those, who embrace Christ 
by faith, and yield obedience to his gospel, shall be saved. 

XVII. Every sinner, left to pursue his native dispositions of 
heart, would reject salvation. The same voluntary enmity of 
heart to God and holiness, which constitutes the depravity of all 
mankind, would induce them to reject Christ. The human 
heart is as averse to the mercy as to the justice of God. The 
mercy of God is as holy as his justice, and the plan of salvation 
by [Christ, will as truly illustrate the perfection and glory of 
Divine justice, as the everlasting punishment of the wicked. 
Knowing, therefore, that all men would reject salvation, God 
determined, or decreed, to save a part of the human race, by Je- 
sus Christ, and they are called, in Scripture, “ the elect of God ;” 
and them, by the influence of his Spirit, he will regenerate, and 
sanctify, and gather into his heavenly kingdom. 

God’s decree of election was a sovereign act of his grace, 
and was not founded in his foreknowledge of their obedience. 
But, according to the common acceptation of language, we can 
scarcely use the phrase, “ sovereign act,” without danger of 
conveying a wrong idea ; for, in its application to the actions 
of men, it conveys the idea of arbitrariness without reason. 
God is the only being qualified for absolue sovereignty. As 
he has infinite power to do whatever his infinite wisdom and 
goodness shall dictate, there is no possibility that his will can be 
unjust, arbitrary, rash, or capricious. It is proper for him to 
say, “ I will have meicy on whom I will have mercy, and I 
will have compassion on whom 1 will have compassion.” 

Those acts of God, which are called sovereign acts, are such 
as infinite goodness approves, and are, no doubt, grounded on 
adequate reasons. But God has not made known the particu- 
lar reasons why, in his election to eternal life, one man is taken 
and another left. The Arminian ought to be reminded that his 
controversy, in strictness, is not with the doctrine of election, as 
here stated, but with a point much nearer home, viz. with the 
idea that the salvation of the sinner turns not on his own free 
act, but on the efficaeious grace of God, which saves him. For 
if his salvation is not of his own free act, but of the grace of 
33 * 


390 


God, it would have been different from what it is, as I said 
above, had there been no previous decree, provided the same 
wisdom and goodness governed. Nothing takes place from the 
mere arbitrary consideration of its having been decreed. 

The opposition of many to the doctrine of decrees, and of 
course to election , arises solely from a misunderstanding of 
them. They regarded it in the same light as though every event 
was taking place under the resistless influence and sway 
of a blind, omnipotent fate ; that things are as they are 
for no reason but because immutably decreed. Never was an 
apprehension more false. They cannot bear the idea that every 
thing was appointed from all eternity; they seem to want to 
reserve the power of altering matters, from day to day, as new 
emergencies may arise, and the great ftuler may get better 
light, having profited by experience. “ Thou thoughtest 1 was 
altogether such an one as thyself.” When men decree before- 
hand, changes are frequently necessary ; but when eternal wis- 
dom appoints, the same reasons which induced the appoint- 
ment, will certainly induce, and justify, its execution. If sin- 
ners are saved by an act of Divine grace, the previous deter- 
mination to save them does not alter the case, and, as I said, 
the same wisdom and goodness governing, would do the same 
thing, had it not been before determined. 

Be not deceived ; be not alarmed, lest in this wide scene of 
events, numerous, fleeting, and successive, as the waves of the 
sea, the purposes of God should fail in their accomplishment, 
be unequal in their operation, or in their result should impair 
the rights of an individual. “ The judge of all the earth will 
do right.” With steady eye, and perfect clearness, he per- 
ceives all creatures ; with almighty power he rules all worlds, 
and with a providence all-wise and benevolent, he brings order 
out of confusion, light out of darkness, and the day-spring out 
of the shadow of death. 

The election of some to eternal life, is no bar in the way of 
those not elected. And a decree of reprobation can mean 
nothing more than a determination not to save ; and as it is pos- 
terior to rejection of salvation, and grounded on it, it indicates 
the doctrines of a full atonement, free offers of mercy, and every 


391 


thing implied in a state of probation. For it must always be 
remembered that election is no more from eternity than every 
other part of the Divine plan, such as propitiation, offers of 
mercy, probation, and redemption. 

XVIII. The elect of Christ shall persevere in holiness, or 
sanctification, and be gathered into the kingdom of glory. This, 
however, depends on the purpose and promise of God, and 
not on the strength and immutability of Christian virtue. 
Those who appear to begin a religious life, and, at length, fall 
from their professions and hopes, and die in a state of impeni- 
tence, were never born again. But every true Christian is 
born of the spirit, and kept by the power of God through faith 
unto salvation ; and though faith is the gift of God, yet every 
man should be encouraged in his endeavors after salvation. 
No man can have any evidence of his good state, but as he 
finds himself conformed in temper and conduct to the laws of 
Christ. Those who have no evidence of their own piety 
should abstain from every sinful act, and be in the way, and 
in the use of the means of grace. 

The doctrine of perseverance, as here stated, naturally fol- 
lows, and flows from the doctrine of regeneration and justifica- 
tion, as stated above. If men turn to God and holiness of their 
own free will, without the special agency of the Holy Spirit, if 
they are justified by their good works, then it would not be 
wonderful if they should fall from grace. 

Every Christian should labour to persevere in faith and good 
works, and every man should labour to be a Christian. “ Strive 
to enter in at the straight gate.” Strive to “ make your calling 
and election sure.” “ Let the wicked forsake his way, and the 
unrighteous man his thoughts.” “ Break off your sins by 
righteousness.” 

XIX. There will be a general resurrection of the dead. 
“ All that are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of 
God, and come forth.” “ Now,” saith St. Paul, “ hath Christ 
risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.” 
Th$ first fruits are a specimen of the cross that is to follow. 
Christ’s body rose from the dead. “ A spirit,” saith he to his disci- 
ples, “ hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have.” JHis body was 


392 


* 

visible, tangible, and real. He ate, and probably drank. If 
this is to be regarded as a specimen of the resurrection, the true 
and real bodies of mankind will rise ; but changed, and made 
indestructible and immortal. 

Some entomologists are of opinion, that the natural history 
of insects furnishes an argument in favour of the resurrection. 
The changes they undergo are very curious and surprising. 
The bright and splendid butterfly, which breaks forth from the 
carcass of a lifeless and corrupted, a shapeless and loathsome 
worm, is as far beyond all human comprehension as the resur- 
rection of the dead ; and as truly displays the wisdom and 
goodness of Divine providence, though on a smaller scale. 

The resurrection of the body, though a doctrine of revela- 
tion, yet seems to correspond with the dignity of rational na- 
tures, and the high destinies of an immortal creature. Man ap- 
pears to be ultimately designed for immortality, in his entire na- 
ture. Had he never fallen, he would never have tasted death. 
“ But since by man came death, by man came also the resur- 
rection of the dead.” It will be to the eternal honour of the 
Redeemer tnat he conquered death, and rescued the body from 
the grave. In that he made the resurrection complete, and 
raised the bodies of the whole race, whose nature he had assu. 
med, he completed the perfection and glory of his triumph. 

“ Break off your tears, ye saints, and tell 
How high your great Deliverer reigns ; 

Sing how he spoil’d the hosts of hell, 

And led the monster death in chains.” 

From the consideration of the resurrection of all the bodies 
of our race, I would suggest whether an argument does not 
rise in favour of a full and complete propitiation, and an offer 
of mercy to all men. It may be alleged, that it will be no 
benefit to the wicked that their bodies are raised. And will 
existence itself be a benefit? Will all the privileges which they 
receive in this life, prove benefits ultimately ? They surely 
might have been benefits, had they been properly improved, 
and, so, had the sinner properly improved his day of probation, 
the resurrection of his body might prove a benefit. 


393 


It has been a favourite point with some, that the church of 
Christ would rise from the dead before the Millennium. This 
idea seems not to be supported from the various representations 
of Scripture. 

XX. The day of judgment will immediately follow the ge- 
neral resurrection, when angels, and men, and devils, will be 
assembled before the Lord Jehovah Jesus. He shall judge the 
world, pronounce sentence, and execute the same. In the ac- 
count which the Lord Jesus himself gives of that day, in the 
25th chapter of Matthew, the moral conduct of those judged 
and sentenced, is alone mentioned. “ Come ye blessed of my 
Father,” &c. “For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat,” 
&c. Again, Revelation xx. 11 and 12. “ And I saw a great 

white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth 
and heaven fled away ; and there was found no place for them. 
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the 
Books were opened ; and another Book was opened which is the 
Book of life : And the dead were judged out of those things writ- 
ten in the Books, according to their works''* Again, in the fol- 
lowing verse, “ And they were judged, every man according to his 
works." 

When men are tried before God, on the last great day, the 
grand question will be, what they have done for the glory of God, 
and for the advancement of his kingdom. Surely those who 
do not believe in Christ, will never yield obedience to his laws, 
will never devote themselves to his service, will never glorify 
his name on earth — will not be Christians. It is freely ad- 
mitted, that “ faith is a saving grace,” and that the first act of 
faith, is justifying ; but why ? It is because it is an insurance of 
a saving change of heart — of a new creature : it is an evidence 
that old things are passed away, and that all things are become 
new. It is, in one word, an acceptance of life and salvation by 
Jesus Christ, to whom the understanding assents, as the Son of 
God, and Saviour of sinners, and in whom, as such, the heart is 
delighted, and reposes confidence. 

Divine purposes, of which neither men nor angels can conceive, 
may be answered by the general judgment ; but we can easily 


394 


perceive valuable ends answered by a public trial, and sentence. 
The power, and majesty, and glory of God, will then appear to 
all creatures in the person of Christ. Sinners shall look on him 
whom they have pierced, and every eye shall see him, and all 
the kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. The govern- 
ment of God will be justified in view of all intelligent creatures, 
and they shall acquiesce in the justice and goodness of the final 
sentence. 

XXI. The general judgment will issue in an everlasting state 
of rewards and punishments. Sinful creatures will dwell in a 
region of sin and misery. Infinite wisdom and goodness will 
mete out the nature and degree of their sufferings. But from the 
word of God, as well as from the nature and tendencies of sin, 
we have reason to believe their sufferings will be great. 0, sin- 
ner ! learn the value of the [present hour, to flee from the wrath 
to come. O, my soul ! let it be thy chief concern to seek first 
the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof. 

As the lost of our race will have their final residence with 
the apostate angels ; so, the redeemed will dwell and associate 
for ever with the elect angels. And the express and abundant 
promises of a new heavens and new earth, I think, should be 
received in more than a figurative sense, and ought to be un- 
derstood as literally true. “ And he that sat on the throne, said, 
Behold, I make all things new. And I beheld a new heavens 
and a new earth ; for the first heavens and the first earth were 
passed away, and there was no more sea.” It may not be im- 
pertinent to remark, that some have thought, that before [the de- 
luge there was no ocean on this globe ; that the waters were in 
the centre, or below the surface, and the lands incrusted over 
them.* And certainly, the researches of Hutton, Werner, and 
other eminent geologists of the present day, do not diminish the 
probability of this supposition. 

The glories of the new heavens and earth are sublimely de- 
scribed in the scriptures. There will be a peculiar honour and 
felicity in dwelling with angels ; beings of nobler forms and 
more exalted faculties than men. All the powers of conversa- 
tion, locomotion, perception, and enjoyment, will be from the 
* Burnet’s Theory, &c. 


395 


first much improved, and will continue to improve for ever. But 
a chief advantage of that blissful world will be its entire free- 
dom from all sin, and all its consequences. To the most plea- 
sing situation there will be added beauty of form and purity of 
heart ; it will be a vast region of pure intelligence and unmin- 
gled friendship. One glance at that society, one thrill of those 
exalted joys, will for ever cancel all regret at the remembrance 
of the relations and loves of this mortal life. 

But every other advantage will be far outweighed by the con- 
tinual presence, the communion, the smiles, the love of the in- 
carnate God. The amazing, ineffable glories of divinity, con- 
centrated in, and beaming round his person ; softened, familiar- 
ized, brought near to the converse of saints and angels by his 
lovely humanity. Around his throne the apostles, patriarchs, 
prophets, martyrs, saints, yea, all his church — all his angels 
will gather ; each arrayed in the new born glories of immorta- 
lity — in the bright and spotless, the unfading and illustrious, 
robes worn at the marriage of the Lamb. “ The Lamb shall 
be in the midst of them — shall lead them by fountains of living 
waters ; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” 

XXII. The church of God seems appointed to pass through 
five successive dispensations, and may be compared to a stream 
of water : Her fountain head was in Adam, from whom till 
Moses, she seems a devious and almost invisible stream, wan- 
dering through impervious forests and wilds. From Moses till 
Christ, her waters gathered strength, were broader, though often 
narrowed by droughts, and almost swallowed up in sandy de- 
serts. From Christ till the Millennium she becomes a majestic 
torrent ; “ her waves roll in light,” vessels ply on her broad ex- 
panse ; though still she has her narrows, her rapids, and cata- 
racts. From the Millennium till the judgment, she becomes a 
sea ; for then the knowledge and glory of God “ covers the earth, 
as the waters cover the sea.” From the general judgment she 
looks forward on a broad and boundless duration of glory and 
happiness : 

“ Now vast eternity fills all her sight, 

She floats on the broad deep with infinite delight ; 

Her seas forever calm, her skies forever bright.” 


396 


Such are my views of the doctrines of religion. The outline, 
I confess, is very general and rapid : but if I have not sacrificed 
clearness to brevity, unless the reader mistake the import I 
mean to give to the terms I use, he may judge for himself, 
whether they be Hopkinsian, Calvinistic, Arminian, or any 
thing else. Knowledge and information are common stock. 
When we read books, and discover men’s opinions and prin- 
ciples, and are convinced of their correctness, or find they agree 
with our own, we throw them into our own funds, and at length, 
perhaps, forget from whom we derived them. Thus they be- 
come our own. But we are in continual danger of mistaking 
authority for evidence ; and the opinions of men, for the word 
of God. If we escape this rock, there is another, still more 
threatening, ready to receive us ; that is, the danger of reading 
books, (not excepting the Bible itself,) not to discover what is 
true, but to gain confirmation in our opinions. And it is the 
unhappiness of most people, that they carry this point so far 
as carefully to avoid all books, excepting such as they are pre- 
viously assured will give them full support. 

Alas ! the blind infatuation of men ! could an inhabitant of 
some distant world, who did not know the perverseness and 
depravity of our race, believe, that there was such a thing 
among men as adopting a religious sentiment because it was 
popular? — Not because it was true, but because certain great 
men held to it 1 Could a holy angel believe, that error was 
made a stepping stone to promotion and honour 1 — a staircase 
to popularity and distinction ? Could he believe it possible that 
one man could hate and persecute another, because he thought 
differently from him ; and perhaps knowing, at the same time, 
(a case which sometimes happens,) that the man he persecuted 
was right, and he was wrong ? Alas ! angels do know it — and 
if susceptible of grief, cannot but mourn over the folly and 
wretchedness of our race. Devils know it — and if they can at 
all rejoice, it must be to see themselves outdone in madness, 
inconsistency, and folly, by men for whom a Saviour is pro- 
vided. 


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